She had been so distracted by Six's dream the demon had been kind enough to send her that Wish never realized Brina was trying to wake her. In fact, she kept her disgruntled thoughts mainly to herself in the rainy hours of the morning until Alexien was speaking suddenly behind her. Wish jumped just a little bit, being jarred from her musing. Both Brina and Alexien's wise words did not do much to soothe her either; still they were true that Six violating her dreams in more way than one was something to fret over.

"How very ungentlemanly-like of him," Wish started referring to Six and then she let out a shudder, one that was not just due to the rain hitting her now. "Aye, I only hope I can fill my dreams with other memories... try to keep the demon out."

Wish's embarrassment did not lessen when she noticed Alexien and Brina had the pleasure of sneaking a peek at her exposed rear end; good thing she was a smart enough girl to wear undergarments. Her back now straight, she smoothed her skirt over her backside her gossamer-like wings giving off an irritated flutter. Despite this, she couldn't help but give off a laugh as she turned to Alexien and Brina, her hands poised on her hips.

"I was sure I felt a breeze from somewhere," Wish said. "At least we're all a little closer now, ey?"

While Brina went and readied herself to leave, Wish took a few moments to gather her own things. In the time that Brina had made her way back to the now dead campfire, Wish had heard something. Brina's words about leaving and finding a demon were drowned out as Wish tried to focus on another sound closing in from the distance. The noise was all too familiar and one she soon recognized as the sound of wings - wings that were flying and falling fast from the cloudy gray skies.

As soon as she looked up, Wish spotted the beast that had descended upon their campsite and the thing dive bombed right towards her. What a way to start the morning. Wish had been fortunate enough to hear the sound of flight; it gave her just enough time to put her hands out in front of her, a magical barrier forming between her and the new foe.

The assailant was another demon, one that much resembled a gargoyle only with talons and horns that were so sharp that Wish thought they gleamed. The dive into her sent Wish flying backwards. The Fae rolled across the ground a few feet and before she could even get up, the demon was back on her. However, the barrier seemed to be still intact. From a distance, it appeared as if the demon - shrieking and frantically clawing in Wish's direction - was hitting some sort of strong, flexible glass where its prey hid underneath.

Wish olive's green eyes were closed tightly. Oh, she had no intention of looking up though she heard the demon's roars very well and knew it was angry. Behind the animal like growls that ripped from the demon's throat, Wish desperately whispered ancient words which were keeping the barrier up for now. The demon tried swiping at her from the sides, but each attack was evaded by the shield.

She assumed that had she not had the chance to put up magic between her and the demon, that Wish would have been swooped off and well on her way to Six. That bastard could invade her dreams, but she was not going to let him get her like this. Oh no, she'd keep this damn barrier up all day if she had to. It had crossed her mind that Six had thought she was probably still in a weak and shaken state. He was somewhat accurate, but she was still strong enough to defend herself.

Brina had wanted to find a demon - too bad it found the trio first.

Six watched as the demon attacked Wish. He smiled as it bounced off whatever magic that the Fae had put up. She was a bright one this stinky Fae. The other demon kept pounding on the barrier, and the girl's lips kept moving. She was chanting her protection spell over and over. How long could she keep that up? Six wasn't sure that he would be willing to wait that long. Which meant that he had a couple of options. He could watch as this lesser demon kept beating at Wish, or he could step in and take matters into his own hands.

He sat back and let the demon go to town for a while. He watched as the Fae kept chanting. Soon enough she would feel her throat drying up and she wouldn't be able to chant any more. It would almost be sad to watch her fall to such a small demon. What Six did next would probably surprise Wish and anyone else who may have been watching. He stepped out from the shadows, still as naked as he was before. It seemed that nudity didn't bother him.

"Normally I wouldn't stand between a demon and his fae prey, however brother, this fae is mine. And I won't tolerate poaching." With that he unleashed a black vortex of magic at the demon's head. The death spell he sent at the lesser demon may have been a bit much. After all it wasn't like he was going up against a greater demon. But with everything that had happened lately, he wasn't sure that a lower spell would have had the same effect.

Fortunately for him he needn't have worried. The black vortex hit it's target. At first the demon just looked at him and grinned. Then, as if being eaten from inside the demon began to disintegrate. It rushed at Six and just before it hit him, the spell took full effect and nothing but dust hit Six's face.

Grinning from ear to ear, he looked over at Wish, "If you're going to die, it'll be by my hands. So, please, don't think that just because your sweet blood is calling out to all the demons around here, that they're all being sent by me." Six licked his lips as he looked her up and down. "Trust me, I want that sweet taste in my mouth." With that he bowed. Turning he slid back into the shadows. It was time to hunt down that mageling.

((This post skips ahead a few days.))

"If you're going to die, it'll be by my hands. So, please, don't think that just because your sweet blood is calling out to all the demons around here, that they're all being sent by me. Trust me, I want that sweet taste in my mouth."

It had been a long time since Wish had been considered a meal for anyone and frankly the idea made shivers run up and down her spine for the next few days. Six had seemed to make some claim on her, as he did with Emmaleigh and those poor other girls. Usually when a demon makes a claim on you, it's not intended to be romantic in the slightest bit. Instead Wish had the pleasure of imagining Six sitting there and eating her alive with a fork and knife in hand and just a napkin wrapped around his neck (still naked otherwise). In addition to that, she also had to work on keeping Six out of her dreams so they wouldn't turn lustful. Wish tried to avoid anything that would open up any new cravings inside her, such as giving herself over to a demon.

So, suffice to say, by the time the trio of Wish, Brina and Alexien finally made it back to Grand City, Wish's worries had turned to irritation that she could no longer walk without all these invisible barriers around her. She muttered something about needing a drink and they headed to the Oak Barrel Tavern, where as luck would at last have it, upon stepping foot into the tavern she saw the dark haired stranger that was a mere flash in Emmaleigh's memories.

Wish paused in the doorway, Brina and Alexien both nearly running into her. It was as if some breath had been stolen from her and then all at once she moved with quick strides over to the mage. Wish reached up and slapped him hard across the face, which was quite a feat in itself. Considering the man was so tall, about a good foot and seven inches taller than Wish, she had to lift herself up with her gossamer wings. Hovering in the air there after she had made contact with the man's cheek, Wish stared him down with anger flaring in her olive colored eyes.

"This is all your fault!" Wish shouted. She did little to keep her voice down and a few of the patrons in the bar had turned to watch the argument that was really one sided. Brina and Alexien stood mostly stunned in the background, though Wish swore she heard Alexien laugh a little. "What sort of man are you?!"

The wizard stood there with a seemingly confused look and didn't say a thing.

"Well, aren't you going to take responsibility!?" Wish asked again.

One might think at this point that the man was the father of Wish's bastard children.

When she was finally able to be calmed (thanks to a few good swallows of ale), Wish explained the whole situation to the wizard she now knew as Victor Sage. Wish let him know that two of the girls he had helped by sealing a demon all had their orifices used in more ways than one and tortured until death by the same demon. Fortunately for Emmaleigh, she had been thrown against the wall and died from the impact. Unlike the other girls, Wish didn't want to die or be used as Six's play toy.

So, in the end it was decided that Brina and Alexien would part for now - they were going to search the Eastern regions of Aleris for anything that might help put an end to Six or at least detain him. In the meantime, Victor had agreed to accompany Wish (though it was questionable to whether or not he was forced into it). The two headed towards the Southern regions of Aleris to find a better method of hopefully sealing away Six.

I’ve been smacked around by Gods…literally. When the Gods of Mystra had gone toe to toe, I stepped in (of course) and was then very politely back-handed back out. It hurt like hell, but I was expecting it and could brace for it. However, when a 5 foot 2 inch, cute as a button, fairy comes up to you and slaps you in the face, you don’t tend to be expecting it. And it hurts.

“This is all your fault! What sort of man are you?! Well, aren’t you going to take responsibility!?”

The string of accusations and questions were out and seemingly forgotten before I could even mutter a word one way or the other. I wasn’t afraid that she would hit me again, but I kept my eyes open and ready just in case. Her partners then stepped up and calmed her. It took them a bit, but once they’d finally gotten her settled, she confirmed what I’d feared.

I was the reason that two girls had died. My over-confidence had been their downfall. Of course I was going to help. The only problem was, if I couldn’t stop this demon once, how could I hope to stop him this time? I grabbed my hat, coat, and staff, then turned to the Fae, who’d been introduced to me as Wish.

“So, where are going?” I asked, only half expecting a verbal reply. Truth be told I kind of thought she’d hit me again.

“To the south, there has to be something somewhere to help us trap, kill, or banish this demon.” And I couldn’t argue with logic like that.

Soon I found myself on the road again, this time with a fairly cute fairy. All in all I’ve had worse first encounters with future partners. At least we were fairly sure that we’d be safe for the first part of the trip.

At this point I’d like to take a moment to talk to you about how important it is to keep your boots clean. Cleanliness is next to Godliness they say. And shoes make the man (again another saying from the mythical “they”). I’ve also found that if you take care of your boots, and clean them each day before your trip and once you’ve arrived home, they’re easier to clean, and your feet hurt less from things stuck in them. Oh, and last but most importantly, you need to keep your boots clean, cause if you’re like me you end up sticking them in your mouth more often then not.

Almost as soon as we were out of town there came an explosion from behind us. Gaging from the sound and where I now saw smoke rolling out of, I’d guess it was the Pub. “Great, I’m sure they’ll blame me for this and fire me.”

Even if Vic had tried to argue with her, Wish wouldn't have allowed it. She would have drug him out of the Oak Barrel Tavern by the ear if she needed to. It didn't so much as matter if her path was clear or sound, but that she had someone with her, because there was no way in hell she was going to make it through Aleris with Six effortlessly tracking her. Victor Sage just happened to be the lucky recipient she could blame something on for these last few days.

Truth be told, she was very new to the realm of Aleris and barely had any foothold in the whole of this land. Wish didn't really know why they were heading south, but it seemed as good a direction as any. A while ago, however, when she actually had time to read and wasn't being hunted, she did come across something about the Al`Sir Camp to the South. Apparently the tribal people of that village were known to be skilled at conjuring and their specialty: demons. On the other hand, it was also said that these people were considered ruthless at times and used their summoned demons for conquest purposes. It was a somewhat decent place to start, Wish thinking these people might have some hand in a spell that could counter Six and send him back to whatever hole he crawled out of. She just wondered if the word "please" would help.

As they were leaving the Oak Barrel Tavern, an unexpected thing happened. The establishment which Vic used to work at, where travelers went to have drinks and rest their weary bones, suddenly blew up. Wish ducked, crouched down and folded her arms over her head, shielding herself from any debris. She cast a glance over her shoulder, searching the area for any sign that Brina and Alexien had evaded the explosion. Briefly, she caught the pair of them watching flames dancing over the Oak Barrel Tavern. Alexien seemed to shrug, Brina offered a wave and then the two of them wandered off into the blackness of the evening. It was the last she would see of the two of them for a while.

Wish stood up again and waved Vic ahead, drawing both their attentions away from the flaming mess of wood that used to be a building and headed forward. "You think your first job in Aleris was bad?" Wish said with a laugh. "Try getting beaten, falling downstairs and breaking your leg, having your first customer killed and nearly being molested by a demon on the third day of the job."

And then they were off, headed to the Southern regions of Aleris. It took a few weeks to get even remotely close to their destination, having travelled on foot. Strangely enough, while camping out and heading along on their way, they had no encounters with any demons. Wish was starting to think that Vic might have found her a liar about the situation, but she felt, as they say, it's always calm before the storm.

By the time they reached the desert, the sun was already beating down heavily upon them. Tempesturo's summer seemed to be in full swing and Wish had shed her coat and whatever other clothing she could without going fully nude. While stuffing what she could into her pack, Wish stopped and looked at the miles and miles of sand that lay ahead. Wiping sweat from her brow and shielding the sun from her vision for a moment, she tried to spot the Al`Sir camp and was without much luck.

"The encampment must be further in," she said rather quietly to Vic. She didn't look up at him, but there was a clearly defined line of worry marking her brow. She was concerned about crossing the desert and not knowing the camp's exact location, she didn't want them to get lost and run out of provisions and water in the process. Still, she moved her booted feet forward and headed onward. "Well, I for one, am not going to let a little ol' desert scare me away. Are you scared, Victor? Just remember, if you run off, I'll find you."

I'm from a naturally colder environment. Hence the long black leather coat, long sleeve shirt, wide brimmed hat, pants and boots. They were part of my wardrobe because I didn't have anything else at the time of enchanting most of it and that was what I had. I'm pretty sure I didn't make any protection tee-shirts, and even if I had I don't think I'd feel as safe with that on. I'm odd like that.

So, while the lovely lady before me stripped down to bare necessities, I was left sweating and ogling her. Of course I did my best not to do this where she could see me but I'm pretty sure she noticed once or twice. What can I say? I'm a man. I'm a pig. I couldn't help myself. And it'd been so long since...

Okay, so, the heat was horrible.

As we rested and looked out over the desert Wish commented, "Well, I for one, am not going to let a little ol' desert scare me away. Are you scared, Victor? Just remember, if you run off, I'll find you."

I turned and looked at her for a moment, then back out at the death trap in front of us. "Wish, being scared has saved my life more times then I'd like to think about. Being scared is your body's natural way of telling you shit that's about to go down isn't going to be fun. It's that feeling you get when you walk into a darkened room and you hear footsteps on the floor behind you, but you know you're the only one in the house. That instinct that tells you to run because if you don't you won't have to worry about going into work tomorrow cause you'll be dead. I fully embrace my fear and use it. A wise man once said, 'Wars are fought by scared men, wishing they were somewhere else.'."

Inhaling I started walking into the desert. "Another thing to remember, is that scared is a cousin of paranoid. And I'm paranoid as hell." I turned by head to grin at her, "But just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Chuckling I turned back around and walked straight into a fist to the gut.

A husky voice whispered into my ear, "You're absolutely correct Vic." and Six through me backwards over a sand dune. This was going to be one of "those" days.

At this point, Wish was far from being worried about whether or not Victor Sage was eyeing her up. Over the last few weeks since coming to the realm of Aleris, she had been whistled at by other men in the city, given Alexian Kincade a good view of her underwear and was subconsciously undressed by the demon, Six. So when she shed her jacket, scarf and a pair of travelling gloves, leaving her in a sleeveless, v-neck shirt that laced up in the front, skirt and knee-high boots, she was not concerned if Victor saw a bare shoulder or whatever else.

Nevertheless, shedding any amount of clothing did little to soothe the desert heat and Wish was sure that eventually her normal, paler shade of skin would become reddened and burnt to a crisp under the weight of the sun. So while Victor replied to her question about him being scared, she opted to at least wear her jacket for some sun protection, which was thankfully light in material anyway, and started to take it back out of her pack to throw it over those bared shoulders once more.

"That's great, Victor," Wish replied, her head bowed as she readjusted things into her pack. Part of her was mostly listening to what Victor was saying; the other part of her was fretting over the temperature and still wondering if they'd make it alive to the Al`Sir Encampment. "I just hope that instinct kicks in when we really need it."

Wish lifted her head then and turned to face Victor. It was only a few seconds in time, but it was long enough to catch his grin (which she had to admit upon notice was a charming one) that was promptly followed by him flying through the air and landing in a sand dune. Wish had heard the oh so familiar voice that preluded Victor's flight and had found herself momentarily frozen, chills running up and down her spine. Six. Her pack fell from her hands into the sand and her lips were parted slightly in surprise. So the damn demon had found them and at the realization, words finally fell from her: "Shit."

Shit was right and they were certainly in a whole heap of it. Suddenly Victor's speech about being scared and running and saving your own hide seemed to flow back into her. Wish's muscles urged her to move and she ran toward Victor who was lying sprawled against a sand dune, his head nearly buried in the sand.

Wish had just enough time to push Victor over and make sure he was still alive until she was turning back around again, her palm raised towards Six's direction who had now revealed his previously hidden invisible self. In that slightly curved hand rested a white, pulsating light. Against Wish's skin, it felt like nothing, but to anyone else, it was a burning essence of magic, one that would, if needed, cause its victim searing pain. Hopefully Six would remember that from when he was in his tentacled demon form and she had unleashed it upon him before. The only bad things was, the light was rather small when compared to the towering wall that was Six. The good thing was, she could make more if she needed to.

"I am warning you now, Six. If you come any closer, I will personally make sure you rue that decision," Wish started hoping her voice would not betray her. She sounded confident, but she sure as hell didn't feel it. Her other free hand was pointed downward, motioning towards Victor. "Victor... Victor? Please, you have to get up. I need your help."

Oh gods, she hoped he hadn't been knocked unconscious.

He stood where he was, and smiled. After throwing Sage into the dune, Six had stepped closer, but with Wish threatening him, he'd stopped. The demon wasn't afraid of pain. How could he be? It was one of his favorite sensations. Still, he paused.

"You know this could be a very pleasurable time for you my little fae." his voice rich and almost soothing. "I could bring you to levels of pleasure you never dreamed of. By the time I'm done you'll be begging for me to kill you because you'll know that there will never be another who can make you feel the way I do."

If he wasn't trying to kill both Wish and Victor, Six would probably make a decent city official. He had the looks, and the voice. But he also had a very large closet, with more skeletons in it then a graveyard. Then again if someone had wanted to see them, he'd be more then happy to show them off as well, it wasn't like he was hiding them.

The magic light in Wish's hand burned his eyes when he looked at it. Casually, he glanced at it and then up to Wish's eyes. She'd see now that the light did in fact damage him, his eyes were burnt almost as if they'd be stabbed with a poker. They healed as she watched and then they were normal again.

"I'll tell you what, fae of mine, I'll let you go today. I won't inflict any joy or sexual ecstasy upon your body for two whole days. As long as you leave now and let me have a few moments alone with the mage." his voice grew darker as he said this last bit. He was allowing some of his feelings to show.

There was a debt to be paid and Victor was about to pay in full. He'd killed Six once before and that had sorely pissed the demon off. He'd been able to get his revenge on the others and now Vic was the last one to make pay. And once that was done, Six would be able to stay here forever, and do whatever he wished to Wish's body, mind, and soul. At that thought a smile crossed his face. There were to be glorious times ahead indeed.

"Make your choice, little fae, stand between me and die. Or stand aside and die much later." He always liked to present his victims with options.

I saw a beautiful light. It was just above me and all I had to do was reach out and this would all be over. It seemed like a good idea too. Especially when the pain started in my chest. I'd be lying if I said that the idea of 'going to the light' wasn't appealing at that moment, however, I had a job to finish. The sound of Wish above me telling the demon to back up, brought me farther out of my stupor.

And I'd almost wish that it hadn't shortly afterwards, when the demon expressed an interest in me. I felt a chill despite the intense heat. This was getting very personal, and I wasn't exactly sure that I'd survive it. However, it was times like this that I'd been talking about when I spoke to Wish about fear. And besides, how would I look if I backed down now?

The magic that Wish was using had hurt the demon, not that it showed much sigh of it. But I wasn't about to pass an opportunity to get a heads up on a bad guy. Wish was getting scared and I couldn't blame her. Hell, I was getting scared, but I wasn't about to make her choose between giving me up and dieing now.

I coughed the first few moments before I tried to talk, but finally I got out. "Wish, why don't you go on home? I think the demon and I have a few things to discuss." As I said that I was pushing myself up with me staff. And once I'd gotten to where I was standing straight I knew what I was going to do first.

As my back straightened, I focused my will on my staff, then I poured as much magic power as it would stand directly into it. I designed my staff to be a focus object, it makes it easier and safer for me to blow things up with it. As I poured the power into it, the wood in my hand began to glow, very similar to the light in Wish's hand.

Something was a bit off with it though. I'd planned on blasting Six with a burst of energy that would send him back to whatever reality he'd come from but when I tried releasing it in a burst, the stick just glowed. I could feel two sets of eyes on me now, this was great, my first bit of magic in front of Wish and I'd poured too much will into it.

"Okay," I said, "Plan B." I picked the staff off the ground and twirled it a couple of times. I'd have to let some of the power out through physical contact before it'd be safe to blast. The great thing about a wizard's staff was that it was so versatile. I'd made it to be a focus point, however I could also use it to lean on when I got tired, or to beat the hell out of a demon when I'd messed up a spell.

I'd trained for years on how to use my bo staff in just this way. Now if only it was darker, and there was an orchestra playing in the background, this would have been epic. As it was, all I could hear was my ragged breath and Six laughing.