The Things That Stir In The Night [1x1]

romamaro

Well-Known Member
Month 1
Ms Baccay attempts to capture Isabella, but is fended off by Tia. Tia and Isabella form a bond, but Isabella becomes visibly more afraid of Tia as time goes on. Ms Baccay asks for the Five to try and bring Tia and Isabella in, but they fail.

Month 2
Tia and Isabella are left for a moment plot–wise, as we focus more on the school. One or two students go missing, and Ms Baccay begins to investigate. Towards the end of the month, she recruits the Tech–Genius to help her.

Month 3
Tia and Isabella encounter a hunter themselves. Narrowly escaping, they encounter a member of the Five. Isabella considers joining the school for safety, and after some convincing, Tia agrees, and they join the campus.

Month 4
Tia and Isabella get used to school life. More students go missing, and Ms Baccay and the Tech–Genius can't figure out what's going on, apart from the fact that the students are being kidnapped. The Five start doing regular patrols, but are not able to prevent more students from disappearing.

Isabella García - A cannibalistic black–eyed child, appearing six–years–old, but truthfully being sixteen. The circumstances surrounding her death are unknown, even to her. She hides her eyes under a baseball cap.
Tia Holland - A teenager who has been possessed by a demon, which regularly harasses and belittles her. She can transform into another form, which resembles a rattlesnake–leopard hybrid.
Ms Diwata Baccay -

It was Monday afternoon, and Isabella García looked like any other six-year-old coming home from school. She powered down Blue Creek Valley's main street, wearing a white t-shirt, a baby pink pinafore, and flower patterned leggings. The only things that would maybe make you wonder were the scratches and bruises on her arms, and the ratty red-and-white baseball cap that was pulled down low over her eyes, which were best kept hidden.

If she told you that she was sixteen, and dead as a doornail, would you believe her?

Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed a woman walking behind her. She was tall, and wearing a long black dress that hid her feet. She held a black umbrella over her head, which hid her face from view. The sky over her head was true and blue.

Isabella turned and faced forward again, pulling on the straps of her pink backpack. She'd come into town just a day or so ago, and ever since then, she'd felt she was being watched. She should have left before now, but at least she was finally getting around to it. Hopefully it wasn't too late...

Her greasy black bob shifted as she pulled the cap down further over her eyes, and started walking faster. The street started to get narrower, and Isabella spotted the back of the 'Welcome to Blue Creek Valley' sign. The road would keep on narrowing, the pavement would disappear, and eventually she'd reach the end of the valley and come to a motorway. Then she could hitch-hike someplace else. She was sure that this town wasn't safe—

"Where are you going, Isabella?"

She froze. She glanced over her shoulder again, and saw the tall woman, closer than she should have been. "How do you know my name?" she asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. She hadn't been afraid like this in years. Last time she was this scared was when—

"That doesn't really matter. Where are you going?"

She couldn't pull the little–girl act. Something about this woman told Isabella that she already knew everything. She turned to face the woman, and looked around for an escape. She didn't reply.

The woman moved closer. As she did, Isabella watched her dress moved. It flowed almost too easily, as if there was nothing underneath. She looked back up at the woman, and as she came closer, you could see parts of her face.

All Isabella had to see with a peek of a fang to send her sprinting.

At first, she headed straight for the woman, a headless chicken running wild. She veered out of the way just in time, as the woman's claw of a hand swiped out at her. As her hand crossed the sunlight, Isabella heard the woman hiss in pain, and heard skin crackle. Isabella booked it back down the road towards town, conscious of the fact that she couldn't hear footsteps behind her. As she neared the town again, she weaved into the side streets. Even if she hadn't been there long, she'd familiarised herself with the dingiest, darkest back streets.

She managed to make her way through the streets, not hearing feet behind her, but instinctively knowing the woman was still there. When the streets ended, she found herself at the woods.

She'd heard a few people talking about them. They were thick, and dark at all times of day, and frightening. All sorts of wild animals lived in them. There were lots of old rumours and legends about what was within them, all sorts of monsters.

Most monsters were easy to trick, Isabella had come to find in the last ten years. If there was anything in the forest, she had a pretty good chance. She steeled herself and ran into the dark.

She was running for at least ten minutes, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to see if she was okay to stop. Every time she did, she didn't see the woman. She would instead see a hand hover from within a tree, or hear a wing beat over head, or see something else that otherwise convinced her that the woman was definitely still there.

She ran into a small clearing, shaded by trees overhead, but as soon as she did she realised her mistake. The clearing was bordered with trees on all sides, and the gaps in the trees were filled in with thick ivy or nettles or rose bushes with thorns that would tear your skin up. She almost turned and ran back the way she came, but the woman stood in the way.

Her umbrella had been left behind somewhere, and her face was fully visible. She had a youthful appearance, maybe about her late twenties, and her high–cheekboned face was beautiful, but harsh. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low bun, with wispy bits of hair framing her pale face. Nude lips pouted, and she crossed fair arms over her chest.

Cornered, and fearful, Isabella whipped the cap back, revealing her own face. A bronze face stared up at the woman, chubby in the cheeks. Her tiny button nose wrinkled, and a blunt fringe hung low over her eyes.

She stared up at the woman, huge eyes as deep and as dark as seas. From sclera to iris, they were an all–consuming black, the kind of black that sucked you in and whittled you away and drained your spirit. Her hellish eyes suckered on the woman's pale mono–lidded ones, she started to chant under her breath, again and again...

"Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone..."
 
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Monday afternoon. Tia hated Mondays. Ever since she ran away -

'Escaped. That priest was there to kill us.'

Tia growled softly at the voice inside her head.

'There to get rid of you. I'm fine on the other hand.'



'Oh really? If that's true, then why does your flesh burn whenever you touch holy water? Why can't you go into the church?'

A hesitant pause.

'You're evil now. We're one, and you aren't able to do anything about it. You should be used to it by now. Embrace it, Tia.'

Tia growled louder. She'd never get used to this life. If this could be called a life. Sixteen years old, and she left the only fanily she ever knew, but not the only home she ever knew. Blue Creek Valley wasn't the smallest town in the world, but it still felt too damn small for her. Everyone knew everyone, and being there for sixteen years, people were bound to know her family. So she had to keep her hoodie up at all times.

And it wasn't a surprise that everyone knew that her family had become a living rumor: the family that have birth to a demon. With the majority of the town being religious, it was strange to see that her parents hadn't left the town. She supposed that she would've left in their situation, so she couldn't figure out what their reason for staying was. Nonetheless, she was secretly happy that they were still there. It would give her a chance to make it up to them and make everything alright again. She missed them so terribly much. Until then, she still had to steal from them.

In hand were the spoils of her catch: a framed picture of Tia and her parents together at a picnic, her favorite bed comforter, and her stuffed giraffe. She never told anyone that she still kept stuffed animals, and she intended on keeping it that way.

When she got back to her cave deeper in the forest, she sat her stuff down at the mouth of the cave. She was about to rest herself until a scent came to her in the wind.

One scent. Wait... Two scents. And they were in the forest. From how strong they were, it was a good guess to say that they were close to her position. Where they in her territory? They better not be.

Now Tia had the desire to go check it out. A growling hiss flowed out of her throat as she began to walk towards the scents.

She tracked them until she got to a clearing. She stayed at the fringes of the treeline, growling softly at the situation at hand. These strangers were too close to her territory's edge. She would figure that the claw marks on the trees would warn people to stay far away.

And the more Tia watched, the more she saw things weren't straightforward. This wasn't just a woman and a child. The woman seemed to be chasing the child, and the woman wasn't the least bit normal, especially her scent. Why did she smell death? And was that a wing?! What the hell was she? No matter, she wasn't going to bother that little girl anymore.

She stalked the darkness to get behind the woman, her tail slowly coming out to flick around. Claws soon replaced her normal nails, and her fangs elongated slightly. Getting closer to the woman, Tia extended her tail until she was mere inches away from her.

Then, she wrapped her tail around the woman's leg to drag her back into the darkness with a snarl. She roared at the woman on the ground before dashing off towards the girl. She stopped before she entered the clearing. But then, she ran out to confront the girl, urgency and concern in her face. "You gotta back up! Come on, I need a wider space," Tia shouted as she grabbed the girl's wrist and ran her to the center of the clearing. She then turned around and faced the darkened treeline once more, preparing her body for a fight.
 
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Isabella chanted, and chanted, and chanted, but the woman just stood there, arms crossed, huffing every so often. Eventually, she ran out of breath, and panted, "what's going on?"

"Look, Isabella, there's been kids a lot bigger and a lot stronger than you that have tried that on me. Why don't we just sit down and have a chat?"

Definitely not. Not when the woman had her cornered, in a forest she didn't know, with no way for her to run off if things went pear–shaped. Eyes still fixed on the woman, she started to back up, knowing that eventually she would hit a tree. "No thanks," she deadpanned, not even humouring the woman for a moment.

The woman sighed, and moved forward to shorten the distance between herself and Isabella. She moved—she didn't walk, she moved. Isabella tried to keep enough space between them, and found her back pressed up against an old tree, the ground underfoot littered with pine needles.

"Listen, Isabella. My name is Ms Diwata Baccay. I am the Headmistress of a school near here, for children like you who are a little bit different. Do you understand?"

Isabella wasn't listening. She was focusing on a shadow. Hidden in the tree line, something was watching.

Waiting.

"Do you know what a manananggal is, Isabella?"

Isabella forced herself to look at the woman, who was gathering up the skirt of her dress. She slowly shook her head. Ms Baccay smiled.

"It's like a Filipino version of a vampire. A lot cooler, I think."

With that, she lifted her skirt, and revealed that she was, quite simply, halved. Where her legs should have been, there was nothing but a jagged cut, that should have bled red and sticky, but instead looked bone dry.

"My legs are elsewhere," she explained, her Filipino accent becoming more distinct as she spoke. She only kept her skirt up for a moment, then let it drop again. "So, you see, I'm not a normal person either. I really am trying to help you." She paused, then looked at Isabella with unbelievable pity. "I don't blame you for not trusting me. Black–eyed children aren't known for having happy pasts."

It was something about that look of pity that made Isabella screw up her face. She was doing just fine, considering that she'd had no one to help her for a decade now. While Ms Baccay was talking about herself, the shadow behind her was only growing and growing.

A tail slowly extended from the underbrush. Isabella watched as it snuck towards Ms Baccay's skirt.

She looked up at the woman and grinned from ear to ear. "I don't know what's about to happen to you, but I don't think it'll be nice."

A confused look came over Ms Baccay's face, which quickly changed to one of shock as the tail grabbed her by the skirt and dragged her into the forest.

Move.

Now.

Isabella spun around the clearing, looking for a low tree. She was only little, and there was no chance that she'd get through the bushes without getting hurt. She spotted a tree, on the other side of the clearing, with low branches. She sprinted for it, and as she came within a foot of it when someone grabbed her wrist.

She hissed in pain and tried to tear herself away, but stopped when she realised that it wasn't Ms Baccay who was holding her. It was a teenage girl—probably ages with Isabella herself—with an urgent look on her face. She ushered Isabella back into the tress, which was fine by her. The little girl jumped up and grabbed the lowest branch, then pulled herself up into it's foliage.

It was only when she was a fair bit up that she wondered if that girl was the person who'd had the tail.

Ms Baccay emerged from the undergrowth, beige face marked with a large scratch. Her dress had got caught in the brambles, and the lower half had been torn away to reveal the space where her legs should have been, the end of her intestines peering out from the gash, her bone–white spine just dangling in view. She pouted at the newcomer, but her eyes sparked with curiosity and glee. "Who are you, then?" she asked, sounding fairly pleasant, as if this was routine.
 
The girl went into the trees At the suggestion to run. Tia approved, as she probably would've done the same thing. Her attention turned from the girl to the noises and movement at the bushes. She growled lowly until the woman she thought she had came into view. Her tail flicked back and forth, until she saw the body of the woman in front of her - she was... halved. No legs, and her inner organs were exposed. And that white thing... was her spine? At first, Tia was shocked and backed away, but after the waves of shock passed, it was replaced by morbid intrigue. What the hell was she? How was she alive? Was she a some sort of flying zombie?

She'd never seen a spine poking out of a body... that was still alive. But still, she was a stranger, and she was damn near trespassing. Her interest was quickly replaced when a pulse of energy forced itself outward, making the girl wince and shake her head. Would the demon just calm down for one moment?!

Her tail rattled and her pants grew heavier, but the girl seemed to keep herself together for the moment. She then looked up to the floating half of a body.

"It doesn't matter who I am. I'd never tell you my name. You're trespassing on my territory. Leave if you don't want to get hurt," Tia threatened with a flick of her tail.
 
Ms Baccay's pout only deepened. "Well, why not?" she asked, head cocking to the side. "If you're worried I'm a fairy, I promise I'm not. Giving me your name gives me no power over you."

Despite the distance between them, she extended a hand to the girl, clearly hoping that she would voluntarily close between them. "I'm Ms Diwata Baccay. I'm a Headmistress at a nearby school for children like yourself, and like Isabella." She glanced around, clearly having not noticed that the girl had escaped up a tree. She turned back to Tia, a polite smile on her face. "Most people don't want to come and stay right away. But if you'd like, you could come and visit? See if it's for you? It's nice, I promise."

She looked around again, and took a deep breath. "That offer is for you, too, Isabella," she called.

All things considered, Ms Baccay was very calm. Despite being threatened by a girl who was certainly not a girl, and being watched by a child from the trees, she tapped her french–manicured nails together and hummed a little under her breath, as if this was all quite routine. Out of the blue, she exclaimed a quiet, "ah!", and delved into the breast pocket of her torn dress. "Why don't I give you directions? And you can come in your own time. It will be easy for you two to find, once you know what you're looking for." She pulled out a small notebook, and a palm–sized pen. She settled down on a nearby rock, bat–like wings curving to create a cushion. She started to scribble on the page.

From the tree, Isabella parted the pines and peered out. Her dark eyes blended in with the blackness of the thick tree, and she eyed the teenager and Ms Baccay. She watched the girl's tail, as it swayed from side to side and rattled tensely. It was definitely her that had the tail, then. While most kids would be afraid, Isabella had faith in herself. Ms Baccay might have been able to avoid her, but the chances of that happening twice in one day? Tiny.
 
Tia frowned when the woman talked about fairies. What the hell was she talking about? Curiosity crept in again, but she didn't let it show.

This... Ms.... Baccay was beyond strange. Just the fact that she hasn't seen the lower half of her body set off some vibes that she couldn't describe. It certainly set off the entity within her, and it kept whispering demonic phrases to her that she was somehow able to understand.

They didn't suggest very friendly things.

But the woman also mentioned about a school? There was a school out here? How come she'd never heard about it? The woman began to scribble on a piece of paper, which made Tia flick her tail with a curious air to it. How could a school be in the forest without anyone knowing?

The demon inside her was furious that Tia would even let this creature stay and talk this long - it preferred to go after her and make her regret stepping this close to the territory. The energy pulses began to grow frequent and more powerful, each time making her lose more and more focus.

She shook her head more frequently, and her tail swung around more erratically. "Oh no..... stop it, stop it, stop it..... No, I'm not going to.... Leave her alone!" Tia shouted, as if she was talking to someone else. Her legs buckled and she fell to her knees, a low hiss escaping her mouth.

"You.... Are gonna have..... To go... Fly away or whatever you do.... before I... it...." Tia couldn't finish her sentence before she suddenly let out a sort of hissing roar from her mouth. Her tail grew slightly longer and her eyes glowed a brown color before she stood up.

Her demeanor changed to that of a more aggressive and threatening air, and her voice hissed in a raspy voice. "So, you want to take her? Well, you're not gonna take her. Not while I'm in control. I'm tired of these impudent bags of meat thinking they can control us. And it's never going to happen. Cause I control her. Me. Now die," the voice said before Tia suddenly snarled and charged the winged woman with uncanny speed.

She leaped up and snagged the woman's clothes, pulling and tugging as hard as she could. Her fangs snapped furiously as she tried to pull the woman closer to her, glowing eyes uncaring of what was to happen next.
 
Ms Baccay didn't look up until she finished writing, at which point she tore the page out of the notebook, and turned to Tia with a smile on her face. However, her eyebrows furrowed as she watched the girl. Her lips pouted once more, and she let out a low 'hmm' as Tia fell to her knees. She made no move to help the girl, and simply watched, taking to the air again.

Despite Tia's warning, Ms Baccay watched as the girl took on a transformation, less physical and more so mental. Isabella, watching from the tree, enraptured, felt the air grow thick and tense. Ms Baccay's pondering appearance slowly changed to one of recognition, and a slight smugness. There was a flicker of fear in her eyes as the girl lunged forward, but only her dress was caught as she swept out of the way. She hovered in the air above Tia, one hand coming down to cover the base of her spine. Her other hand fell to her neck, where she grasped for something that wasn't there. Her face hardened, and she spoke: "Well! What are you then? Demon? Dajjal? Shedim? State your name!" Her voice took on an overwhelming authority, and she spoke with a certain command that the demon would recognise as one of its own.

Isabella was drawn further and further out of her cover as things escalated. Boy, wasn't this a show! She was high enough up that she was sure that the girl wouldn't be able to reach her, and her whole head hung out of the tree, mouth split in a grin, obsidian eyes gleaming with glee.
 
The demon inhabiting Tia snarled at the woman flying above her, tail rattling furiously as it looked up to her. Why was she hovering like a frightened bird? The possessed girl tugged a little harder, wanting to bring out more reactions from the female.

But when she began to speak, the demon tilted its head and flicked its tongue. That voice..... It recognized the tone. That sense of authority. It had a certain little something that often caught the attention of other lesser demons. Subconsciously, the demon growled lowly at the woman, but still obliged in responding.

"Humph. I'm a demon. But I'm a rare kind that humanity rarely takes note of. A Hodshaga. We invade a human discreetly, and we don't immediately posses them. We lay dormant for years, and then we wake up to torment them. This girl? This sorry sack of emotions? I've been inside her since the day she was born. And she nor her parents know that. Although, I'll admit, I've slept a little longer than I wanted, but no matter - the older they are, the more fun it is to ruin their lives," the demon said with a hissing chuckle.

"We also have another ability that's special to us. Wanna see?" The demon asked with a wicked grin before forcing a physical transformation. Her body grew bigger and longer, and her body parts morphed into their respective appendages. When it was over, the young girl was not a girl anymore, but some demonic beast that was several sizes bigger than her. The newly shifted creature stood on its hind legs and roared at the woman.

"I hope you know how to fly higher," the demon taunted before using those large hindlegs to launch itself high into the air with a gaping mouth.
 
Ms Baccay frowned, fingers coming up to tap against her lip. "Considering the look of this girl"—she looked Tia up and down, though clearly only judging the outwards appearance—"you've done plenty to ruin her life." She grinned, a row of sharp teeth gleaming.

When the demon made its grisly offer, she opened her mouth to speak, but never got to say what it was she wanted to before the demon transformed. She grit her teeth, and swooped into a tree, coming to rest in the absolute tallest branches. Unbeknownst to her, Isabella was just a few feet below, just now realising that she might have been in more trouble than she realised. The beast was just one more frightening thing that day, and she watched as its gross body moved under tight skin. She pulled herself back into the tree, trying to keep herself out of harm's way.

Ms Baccay perched on a tree branch, using one hand to hold herself upright. "Think about what you do before you do it, fool!" she shouted over the sound of the roaring. "Is this truly all you aspire for? To ruin a girl's life, when, by all means, she may well have done that herself?" The mischievous grin came back to her face. "I can offer you more, Hodshaga," she offered, voice lilting.
 
The serpentine creature made a hissing chuckle at the woman high in the trees. How amusing. So she can fly higher. It rattled its tail as the woman spoke up, tongue flicking as it hissed softly. What did she think it was? Greed? A human? The demon gave a sinister hissing chuckle at the offer she tried to make.

The demon leaped up to the branches of another tree, and looked up at her as it slowly ascended. "Ha. Foolish woman. I'm not a human who aspires to go higher in life. I've done this three times already, and this is by far the most fun I've had in my many years. The only thing I hope to be better at is killing innocents..... And perhaps freaks like you," the demon said with a snarl.

It stopped when the branches were too small to support its huge body, and stared at the winged woman intensely, gauging the distsnce between it and the top of the tree. The tone of voice then grew harsher, and more threatening.

"You shouldn't be trespassing this territory," the demon said right when it leaped towards the tree she was perched on, the demon snarled as it used its claws to scale up the rest of the tree, ignoring the branches and leaning treetop along the way.
 
A slight frown came over Ms Baccay's face at the Hodshaga's blatant disregard for her offer, but it quickly disappeared, and a look of determination replaced it. "Do you really lack that much self–awareness? How can you, in all your own, beastly glory, call me a freak? At least I appear human!" As she spoke, her voice gradually gained more and more volume, until eventually she was shouting, bone–white, razor–sharp teeth bore.

As the demon leaped towards her, she pushed off the branch she was perched on and flew across the clearing. "You should invest in some wings, Hodshaga," she taunted.

Isabella, having pulled herself back into the thicket, now found herself worryingly close to the action. All around her, the branches shook with the weight of the monster. She reached out to steady herself on the tree's trunk, and gripped to the burrs for a hand–hold. As her feet worked on the few branches, her left foot suddenly slipped between them. If she hadn't been holding on, she would have plummeted to the ground. In shock, she cried out. After that noise, she clamped a hand over her mouth. It had been a quiet yelp, and maybe, just maybe, it was quiet enough that the creature wouldn't have heard...
 
The demon snarled as the winged woman flew out of its reach. Once again, outmaneuvered by a winged creature. Its tongue flicked angrily, tail flicking as it watched its prey fly far out of possible reach. How annoying.

"Wings? Maybe I'll think about that the next time around," the beast hissed.

Suddenly, a small noise made the demon creature pause. What was that? A small animal? Thinking about earlier, a note was made that it didn't eat anything for breakfast. The demon hissed softly as it slowly looked under it, searching the branches and shadows for signs of life.

And barely, just barely, it spotted a moving creature. Wait.... Was that a human girl? It didn't really smell like one. But it was here. And it would get it. Tongue flicking in anticipation, the demon positioned itself for an attack.

"Why hello little tidbit," the demon hissed, just before leaping down with a loud roar.
 
The halved–woman's mouth twisted, one eyebrow cocked, at the demon's mention of 'the next time around'. "If I have anything to say about it—" she stopped herself as the demon got distracted.

In the tree, Isabella found herself screwing her eyes up, just hoping so much that she was going to be okay. It was the deep growl, followed by the hissing, that made her eyes fly open, and when they did, she found herself starting directly into the beast's maw. Their eyes locked, both so different, yet alike in their inhumanity.

Their eyes were locked.

Isabella clung to this one fact, and once again, started her chant. "Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone..."

Ms Baccay had made a grave mistake in putting so much distance between herself and the vulnerable child. She cried out as soon as she realised what was happening and flung herself across the clearing, huge wings spreading like a swarm of flies. "Get away from her!" she screamed, clawed hands reaching out to grab the demon's neck.
 
The demon flicked their tongue as the child began muttering to herself. Were they saying a prayer? How amusing. "Sssssshhusssssssh little girl. Ssssave your breath. Nobody's gonna save you," the demon hissed as it opened its jaws to a ridiculous width, huge hypodermic fangs poised to pierce flesh. Just when it was about to lunge at her, a fierce scream made it back its head with confusion.

"What the-" the demon questioned before it was suddenly bombarded by claws and wings. The beast roared in shock, balance being thrown completely off as it tried to fend itself against the suddenly aggressive winged woman.

Branches that were already threatening to break from the immense weight finally snapped from the added force of the attack. Multiple branches broke from under the serpentine creature, and the demon let out a shocked roar as it suddenly felt gravity working against it.

With the attention divided between getting the woman off and staying on solid branches, the demon tried to wrap its tail around any branch it could get around....

And one of the branches happened to be the one the girl was standing on.

While it tried to wrap around the branch, the weight of the beast made it all too easy to just continue falling, and the tail took the majority of the branch with it as it fell on nearly every branch under it. Claws raked on branches and air as it tried to attack the woman, but eventually, the instinct and desire to survive the fall was quick to take priority. Even a little bit of fear began to seep through.

Tia took notice of the increased amount of fear plaguing her body, and used that opportunity to take her own body back.

'You sadistic, arrogant little...! Give me my body back!'
Tia shouted. She fought for control of her own body while her body instinctively fought to keep its attacker at bay, steadily hitting branches along the way to the ground. Somehow, some way, she managed to kick the demon out of the forefront of control, but just when she was registering thar fact, she had hit a branch that was a bit sturdier than others.

Her hip crashed into it, eliciting a pained hissing roar from the beast before she hit the ground with incredible force. Branches and leaves fell around the serpentine demon creature as she lay on the ground, panting heavily as she tried to breathe through the pain coursing through her body.

Damn it... Did that demon willingly let her through so she could deal with all this? For a sadistic entity, it sure had impeccable timing. Tia's vision blurred a little as she looked around, seeing that she was on the ground, in a different position than before.

... And she was in her other form?! What the hell did she do? Confusion and panic ran through Tia, and she wondered what she was to do. Did the woman and girl leave the moment they saw her? Maybe they did. She wouldn't blame them. Although... something told her otherwise. She looked around and sniffed the air, wondering what she was to pick up in the air.
 
Isabella did her best not to flinch as the creature prepared to attack. Her powers had always worked, they sometimes just took a little bit longer than they usually did. Still, she was just about to call it quits when she watched two hands wrap around the demon's neck and squeeze, tightly.

Anticipating the fallout, she reached out and grabbed onto the tree's burrs, hoping that it would be enough to keep her up in the branches. She watched as the winged woman and the demon tussled, half clinging to the tree, half in the air, and then watched in horror as the demon's tail wrapped around the branch she stood on.

She registered it too slowly, realised what she needed to do just a second too late, and as she made the move to jump to the next branch she already felt herself going. Her fingernails caught in the knots of the wood and tore from her fingers, and she fell, wailing. She hit branches on the way down, and the angle of one sent her flying into one of the thorn bushes that had stopped her from escaping earlier. It didn't cushion her fall; the speed of her descent made the back of her head crash into a protruding root.

Lights out.

Ms Baccay did her best to hold onto the demon, but as soon as she felt it falling she let her grip slip. She looked around for the girl, and saw an empty space where the girl had first stood. She started to look into the trees, shouting, "Isabella! Come back!"

It was the unlucky combination of this distraction and the demon's blind panic that send the demon's claws on a direct path to her revealed spine.

It was only a small nick. But Ms Baccay screamed in agony and fell alongside the demon, crashing to the ground just a few feet away. She quickly pushed herself up on one hand, the other coming to feel the base of her spine. She groaned at her own touch, but despite the obvious pain she pushed herself upwards, wide wings taking air.

She looked to the demon, and announced in a trembling voice, "Hodshaga; tell the girl you control that I will always look out for her. She always has a place with me." Her voice took on a fierce authority at the end, though it would have been more powerful had she not been holding back tears.

With that, she flew into the trees, still calling, "Isabella! Isabella!"
 
Tia groaned as she tried to ignore the pain in her body. She'd endured pain before, but this hurt like hell. Sitting up, she sniffed the air, but soon saw the woman that she had encountered. She was.... Flying over her. And she looked like she was in pain... Something told her that she might've had something to do with that pain.

The winged woman then spoke to her with a fierce voice, something that sent a shiver down her spine. Why was she speaking like that? What did the demon say to her? Did it insult her? But her words somewhat suggested something else. The woman.... Was looking out for her? And she always had a place with her....? What did that mean? And did she really mean it?

She opened her mouth to speak up, to ask her what she meant, but the winged woman flew away after her final words. With a sigh, Tia took the opportunity to stand up without the risk of being attacked. All of her limbs ached, but she wouldn't dare stay out there during daylight hours to rest; not when she was injured.

With a short hiss, Tia turned her body to limp away back to her cave and rest in seclusion.... But then she detected a scent. Lifting her head, Tia flicked her tongue out as she sniffed the air, trying to detect the source. She padded slowly along the forest floor, her head swinging from side to side as she searched for the scent.

And then she saw her; the girl that she remembered had climbed up the tree. She was unconscious, and sprawled out on a bed of sharp brambles and thorns. She smelled strange - like the earth and..... death? The serpentine demon snorted softly, wondering what to make of the girl. She was obviously not normal either, so it made her wonder what she was doing out here.

Either was, it as obvious that she was injured. She didn't know how, but the fact was still there. Even so, a great majority of her recently acquired personality disliked the idea of bringing strangers to their territory. But a part of her still wanted to bring her along. Who knows what would take advantage of her. Not to mention how small and cute she was. The wolves would snatch her up in seconds.

But her demon objected. It sent a pulse of energy that Tia didn't feel like dealing with. She hissed a warning.

"No. With this crap you pulled, you don't get to vote. I'm taking her with me. If she proves to be dangerous and a threat, then - and only then - will we kill her. She could be hurt. Until then, she's innocent until proven dangerous," Tia said.

'Oh look at that. She has a conscience of her own. So you're not as weak as previously suggested,'
the demon taunted.
Ignoring the jab, Tia used her tail and wrapped it around the smaller female's waist, lifting her gently off the brambles and onto her back.
She ignored the pain her own body parts elicited and padded back to her cave, with new cargo to carry.

~~~~~~​
When she finally got to her cave, Tia laid the girl down inside her cave. Not all the way to the back to her hidden room - that wouldn't do - but halfway, where they would be hidden by the darkness. As much as she hated it, Tia let the girl lay her head on the blanket, and only her head. She had just gotten the blanket, and she didn't want its scent to be erased too soon.

The large demon creature opted to lay further in the cave to be half concealed by darkness, feeling secure and safe within the shrouding atmosphere. Once her body relaxed, she felr herself drift off to sleep.
 
It would be an hour or so before Isabella started to stir, her long eyelashes lazily fanning out across her dark cheeks. At first, she could see nothing, and bolted up in alarm. However, she didn't even manage that before her head throbbed in agony. She cried out, and then moaned softly, her head falling back down. She lifted her hand to her forehead, a welt already growing.

Staring up at the darkness, unable to get up, Isabella's mind started to track back what had happened. Bit and pieces started to come together, and she realised how much danger she could have been in. She had no way of knowing what happened with the demon, or to Ms Baccay. She could easily be in either of their lairs—this was a cave, after all—just waiting for dinner...

Feeling the urgency of the moment, she rolled onto her front and pushed herself up, trying to be as gentle as possible. As she pressed her hands into the ground, she felt that the material under her palms was soft. She grasped it and slowly lifted it up to the small amount of light coming from the cave's mouth.

It was a blanket. She couldn't see much of the pattern or the material, but it was soft, and felt a little old in her hands.

She glanced around the cave, as if waiting for another little girl to come out of nowhere and claim it. Something in her told her that whoever had brought her here couldn't be too harmful—not if they were cuddling with a blanket every night.

Or maybe the opposite was true. Maybe this blanket was from some poor kid before her that didn't get out in time.

Well, Isabella wasn't going to repeat their mistakes.

Stumbling to her feet, she pulled the blanket around her shoulders. She started to shuffle towards the cave's opening, tripping over her own feet every few steps.
 
Tia dreamed as she slept. It was a memory of when she was younger.... When she was with her parents. Playing tag with her papa on the front lawn, while her mama played music on the radio while making lunch inside the house. She could smell the food cooking, which prompted her to run inside the house to see if she could sneak a bite.

She was stopped from eating the food, but she was instead going to get a kiss from her mother. Just when she was about to have her kiss, she was jerked away from her dream.

It took a moment for Tia to realize what she had dreamt about, but once she did, she let loose an irritated hiss. How infuriating! She hated when she had those dreams - she always seemed to be woken up during the parts that she relished the most.

Sadness swept over her, and she felt the tears wanting to build. But suddenly, she heard shuffling sounds from behind her. Turning her head, Tia was reminded that she had brought that girl over. But then, she saw her frame being covered by a material.

It was her blanket.

Her sadness was quickly replaced with anger. With a hiss, Tia padded up to her with haste. Using the darkness, she managed to get past the girl, and ended up standing in front of the cave mouth.

Her tail rattled softly as she eyed the girl, slightly forgetting her need to be friendly.

"Uh-uh. That's mine. Put it back," Tia hissed slowly. "I only let you lay on it to rest your head."
 
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Caught up in her own pain, Isabella missed the faint padding sound of someone creeping around her. She kept her eyes focused on the outside, specifically on a magpie perched on the end of a branch, trying to ignore how her vision was blurring at the edges. But the light from the front of the cave suddenly disappeared, blocked out by something, or someone. Isabella gasped and stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over the blanket.

The faint rattling made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she clutched the blanket tighter around herself. The voice that came from the darkness was long and thin, creeping into her ears with a harsh hiss, and a little familiar. It was only after a second of thinking that she linked it to the creature that had tried to kill her...twice. She sneered. "Oh, how nice of you. Letting your dinner rest her head, when you were the one that knocked her out the damn tree!" Her raspy voice started out as a stage–whisper, but quickly started to rise in volume.
 
Tia flinched at the sudden raise of voice from the girl in front of her. For someone with a small stature, she sure had a big voice. Everyone seemed to be in a yelling mood at her today, and she didn't even know them.

Even so, she didn't like the tone she was hearing. She made slow methodical steps towards the smaller girl, hissing softly as she craned her neck over the smaller female.

"If I was going to eat you, you'd be suffering by now. I tend to play with my food before devouring it," Tia blatantly said as her brown eyes studied the girl. This wasn't the way to get the girl to be friendly to her.

Tia quickly cleared her throat and sat down. "S-sorry.... I didn't mean to say that. I don't want to s-scare or hurt you. And that wasn't me that was trying to eat you.... I just want to know why you're in the forest. You were near my territory," Tia said as she put a paw on the side of her head.
 
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