An Unexpected Debt

[Envy]

Xeiro wanted to slam his face into the table top.

 

Better yet, he should slam the demons face into the table.

 

“No... I rather not take that chance.” he answered “Though I still owe you a favor, but that is one I will not do. If they found out about you and I, I'd be told to kill you, and if I didn't then they send someone after you. And I just know somehow it'll go bad for me.”

 

Sighing he sat back and shook his head a little “If you have a death wish, leave me out of it.” he said evenly.

[Castleofbones]

"Ok fine I won't go in but i'll wait nearby outside. Is that a fair compromise?" I offered, grudgingly.

 

"But in return I want to help you with whatever mission it is, Is that ok?" I added quickly, making my conditions clear before Xeiro could deny them.

 

"Anyway, that favours is going to be REALLY good considering it cost me $20 million" I licked my lips at the thought of what I could ask for with that.

[Envy]

Xeiro went still and fell into looking at the incubus.

 

He had to be joking...

 

There was simply no way the demon had that much money just lying around. And he doubted anyone would pay that much for a human they just wanted to kill in the end, no matter how 'delicious' their soul was. He had been out of it mostly, so he had no idea how much the biding had ended, but that amount was just ridiculous.

 

He scoffed after a moment looking at him indecorously.

 

“Right.... twenty million.” he said a brow raised at the demon, clear disbelief written all over his face.

 

“There is no way you paid that much for me. If you have that much money, why would you be bumming at my place? It makes no sense.”

[Castleofbones]

"Why am I at your place? That's simple, because you're there. And yes, I did pay that much. The price was nearing $10 million so I doubled it because I wanted you... then no one wanted to pay that much to have the honour of killing you so I got you" I said matter of factly.

 

I wasn't going to mention the fact that I had all of the money in the world and that I just had to summon it to me.

 

"Anyway, despite your soul being delicious, you are a very interesting person to have as company"

[Envy]

Xeiro almost threw his hands up in the air, but he stayed composed.

 

The waitress dropped off their food, not staying around to hear any comments that might be said between the two. The hunter simply ignored her.

 

“I don't see how I could be all that interesting.” he muttered as he looked at his food.

 

Gods he was hungry.

 

He didn't say anything else as he dug into his food. He fought done a groan of appreciation. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate anything.

[Castleofbones]

"You are very interesting. Despite you being a hunter, you still allow me to hang around with you and haven't tried to attack me once. The way you react to me teasing you is cute and your sleeping face is adorable. I also find the fact that you pretend to be emotionless as well even though I can feel your emotions. And you have very strong waves of emotions so it's easy to understand what you are feeling" I said as I ate my food between sentences.

 

From the look on Xeiro's face, it was really good. That or the fact that he was so hungry that it didn't matter what it tasted like and he just enjoyed that fact he was eating.

[Envy]

Xeiro heard every word the incubus said though he seemed not to be paying attention.

 

He took a drink from his cup to clear his mouth of food and looked at him with a quirked brow.

 

“It's not because I like you, you know.” he said, referring to his letting him hang around him. “I doubt you'd leave me if I told you to. In fact, I said you couldn't stay with me at my place and yet your there aren't you?”

 

He folded his arms over his chest, sitting back, his face clear as he met his eyes “I don't attack anyone unless I'm provoked. I'm not one of those hyper tension hunters that try and kill anything that isn't human. I'm not interested in harming you.”

 

He looked down to his food before he started eating again, this time with a little more manners.

[Castleofbones]

"Well that's good for me. Those 'hypertension hunters' as you call them have annoyed me and stopped me feeding several times in the past. And trust me when I'm hungry and about to eat my meal, I get violent very quickly. Those hunters are always the first to die..." I said as I gripped the metal fork in my hand so tightly that the metal had started to bend into the shape of my clenched fist.

[Envy]

“It is their job you know.” he said after he swallowed the last bite in his mouth.

 

“A hunters job is to protect the humans from creatures like you. To hunt down the ones that don't play by the rules. As long as you don't kill, you should be just fine. But there are those who don't care one way or the other.”

 

He knew from experience.

 

When he had first joined the Guild, his mentor had been such a hunter and Xeiro had been disgusted by him. He reported the man and he had been disciplined. Angered, the man had quit and left. Xeiro hadn't seen nor heard from him since.

 

“I know for a fact an Incubus can feed without killing. They feed more often, but they can do it. And there are willing Host you could use, much like vampires do.”

[Castleofbones]

"True. But it also takes a lot of restraint to stop in the middle of feeding. I can't do that yet, Well, it's more like I haven't tried. But I do only kill those humans who have killed someone that or will end up kill someone by the end of the contract. Plus the human population needs to be controlled anyway- they're heading towards destruction if the population keeps increasing. Soon food and water resources will become depleted and millions will starve. Supernatural creatures hunt humans to keep their numbers low but the human population has been increasing since you hunters kill us. We have a simple predator-prey relationship. Like Foxes and Rabbits." I explained, knowing that Xeiro wasn't going to like the fact that i have killed hundreds of humans in the past but I was being honest with him and not hiding it, like I was ashamed of it. Because I wasn't. I needed to eat and humans souls' are food to me.

 

The only reason why I could stand to only have a taste of Xeiro's soul and not eat it all was the fact that I had just eaten.

 

And anyway, granted humans their one true desire before I ate them anyway, which was better than vampires who sometimes left their victims as mindless zombies.

[Envy]

“But it's creatures like you, that keep hunters like me employed.” Xeiro countered.

 

He took a drink from his glass and put it back on the table, not saying anything further until the waitress who came quickly to give him a refill walked away once again. He looked across the table at the demon.

 

“Humans maybe stupid and destructive, but it's not your place to decide if they die or live. There many creatures like yourself that live in peace with them on a daily bases. Most of them hire out hunters to track and sometimes exterminate rouges. Like you for insistence.”

 

“There is a balance somewhere in all of this, I'm sure your not too blind to see it. If there were no hunters, who would keep preternatural creatures in check? Too many of you and the human population decreases, then millions of you die from starvation and turning on one another. It's a simple predator-prey relationship.” he said using the creatures analogy back at him.

[Castleofbones]

"I agree with you apart from the bit where you said I was a rogue. I simply follow my own rules. The only reason I chose to become and Incubus was the fact with Incubuses there is no hierarchy so I don't have to take orders from anyone. Plus, those creatures that live in peace with humans only want to become humans themselves and they are a lot weaker than the rest. Showing weakness to other demons will insure that you are killed by other demons quickly. These 'Rogues' as you call them will slowly torture and feed on the peace loving demons when humans are in shortage. I used to try and live in harmony with humans back when I was a fledgling, but after my friend suffered the fate of the rogues, I decided that humans weren't worth it." I said as I picked at my meal, remembering the dark times when I was young.

[Envy]

Xeiro looked at the demon for a moment before he looked away.

 

He had heard that story too many times in his life. Losing a friend or family member to the violence of others. It was something familiar, and far too close to home for comfort.

 

“Not all humans are like that.” he said after a while, his voice low as he looked down at his own food.

 

He sighed as he sat back, “And not all creatures deserve to be hunted.” he said finally before he picked up his drink, taking a few good gulps to clear away his suddenly dry throat.

[Castleofbones]

I felt a wave of powerful emotions coming from Xeiro so I tried to change the subject. I also wanted to change the subject as I realised that even if those memories were 1000 years old, they still were a sore spot for me.

 

"So, what type of mission are you going to look for at the guild?" I let the waitress carry my plate of food away and asked for the bill.

[Envy]

Xeiro finished the last of his food before he let the waitress carry away his plate.

 

He looked back to the demon when he spoke again.

 

“Most likely nothing. When I finally go in, they do an interrogation on what happened, and a few days off with counseling sessions to make sure I have been 'traumatized'. Then they will most likely only give me training jobs until they feel I'm up to working again.”

 

He didn't at all sound happy about any of this.

[Castleofbones]

"Aww... that's no fun~" I commented looking disappointed. I was hoping to see Xeiro in action.

 

"Oh, how are you going to say how you escaped?" I realised that he could tell them that I had brought him and he had escaped/ killed me or he could lie and say that he escaped on his own. Or even worst, he could send the entire hunters guild on me to hunt me down and to stop stalking Xeiro.

 

Ha. As if that would ever happen!

[Envy]

Xeiro thought on that question.

 

What was he going to say?

 

“I don't know.” he answered after a moment of thought. “Maybe tell them as much of the truth as possible I guess.” he said with a small shrug.

 

“But you are still not coming with me.” he said giving the demon a look that said he meant it. “I am sure you can find something to amuse you while I go speak with them.”

 

He handed the waitress the card the incubus left on the table when she came back. If he claimed to have so much money, then he could pay for them both. Besides, call it payback for letting him spend the night at his place.

 

When she came back, he stood up to get moving.

[Castleofbones]

"Fine. I've already got an idea of what to do" I said with a grin thinking of the possibilities.

 

I could go back to Xeiro's apartment and give him a "Surprise" for when he returns home or I could look around his apartment to find any pictures of him, even though I doubt he'd have any. Or I could go back to the bar that the guild hunter frequent and see if I can convince the members to tell me some embarrassing stories about Xeiro. My grin widened at the last idea.

 

And it would be a good challenge to see if I could get friendly with the hunters.

 

When the waitress had returned and gave the card back I stood up when Xeiro got up.

 

"So, when and where will we meet up?" I asked, curious.

[Envy]

Xeiro walked out of the small restaurant and onto the streets once again.

 

At the incubus' question, he almost sighed. There wasn't any place he wanted to go right now, and most likely not later either. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave the demon a small shrug.

 

“Just meet me at the apartment.” he said before he walked to the street edge, about to cross it, he stopped and looked back at the other.

 

He looked at him for a moment not saying anything at all before he shook his head “Stay out of trouble would you? I don't want to get a call to go after you.”

 

With that he turned and walked away, heading to the Guild HQ.

 

He wanted so badly to wake up from this part of the dream. But he was pretty certain if he were to, he'd be back in Simon's basement, cuffed and feverish. Knowing he owed the demon was enough to set his already prickly personality on edge.

 

This wasn't going to be easy, but Zac had saved him, so he could at least tolerate him better. Or at least try.

 

These thoughts only seemed to make him feel even more anxiety.

 

How was he suppose to do that?

 

Gods.. he needed something to distract himself with.

[Castleofbones]

"Stay out of trouble?" I said to myself as Xiero walked away "Now why on earth would I do that?"

 

Smirking, I walked back in the direction we came to the bar that Xeiro and I had visited last night.

 

As I arrived I found the bar basically empty. But that was reasonable considering that it was only 11am. However, there were a few drinking but most of the bar's occupants were eating breakfast, chatting over cups of coffee.

 

Taking a seat on a stool next to the bar, I ordered a coffee and looked at the people either side of me. By the look of them and their build, they were both hunters. This is where the fun begins I thought, inwardly smirking.

 

"I haven't seen you around here much, are you new?" The man to my left asked me. He was shorter than me but a little taller than Xeiro. He was about 40 years old, which was pretty old for a hunter since they all tended to die prematurely. On his cheek he had what looked like a burn mark, probably from a witch that he had tried to exterminate.

 

"I just come into town recently. My name's Zak. And you are...?" I smiled

 

"Suspicious as hell" The man grunted. Well this were it get good.

 

"And if I said I was a friend of Xeiro's...?" I countered

 

"Even more so, He's been missing for days after he failed to report in after his last mission."

 

"What if he was distracted by something or someone? And that person locked him up for a few days?"

 

"Just who the hell are you and what have you done with Xeiro?!" The man shouted as he grabbed my shirt and pulled me up.

 

"I'm Zak, as I said. And as to what I have done with Xeiro, I saved him from the certain somebody I was talking about. And now I'm living with him. And I'm very happy being with him" I said, insinuating a physical relationship Xeiro for some fun.

[Envy]

The man on the incubus' other side reached around him and grabbed a hold of his coworkers arm.

 

“Calm down Lance.” he said to the other hunter. “I was here last night when Xeiro came walking in. This guy was with him then, so let go and sit back down.”

 

When his fellow hunter did as he asked, the man looked at the one that called himself Zac. He had indeed saw this man with Xeiro, which made very little sense to him. The kid was a loner, and definitely wasn't one to keep anyone close enough to him to live with. But he had to admit, though Xeiro was hard as hell on the outside, the boy tended to be kind when he needed to be, even if he did it grudgingly.

 

Sitting back down he he picked up his drink “If you really are staying with Xeiro, then he wouldn't like to hear you've gotten into some sort of trouble.” he said before he took a drink from his glass.

 

He looked back to the taller man with a curious look

 

“And who was this someone who had him locked up?” he asked “And I know it wasn't you, because he would have beaten you half to death if it had been.”

 

“I'm Archer by the way.”

[Castleofbones]

"Nice to meet you Archer. Honestly the only thing I know about the guy who locked him up was that he was a vampire and it looked like he knew Xeiro. And the reason he locked him up could have been for revenge or something because not only was he beat up badly but he was then going to be sold to the highest bidder at an auction. Luckily, I have all the money in the world and I brought him for $20 million, which I summoned in a suitcase. And it just so happens a stake 'accidentally' flew into his heart so I can't see him recovering for a while" I flashed a grin, contemplating to tell them I'm an incubus but I decided against it since I wanted to hear some embarrassing stories.

 

"And that thing about trouble, I just can't resist it. I'm going to be honest here. The reason I came into this pub today is because I want to know more about Xeiro. Any embarrassing stories that he'd never tell me would be gold" I looked at Archer and Lance and decided that Archer would be the one more likely to tell be since he wasn't too suspicious of me.

[Envy]

Archer blinked at all the information the man had just given him.

 

He turned in his seat to face him more “You mean Simon.. he runs the Black auction where they catch and sell off hunters.” he said “So that's what happened to the kid huh?”

 

He shook his head at the second part of his words

 

“No one knows much of anything about that kid. All we know is about four years ago he showed up in the Guilds infirmary and he's been with us since. I think his family was slaughtered by some vampires or something along those lines. But wherever he came from, the boy raised in the ranks quicker then anyone in a very long time. He makes veteran's like Lance there look like newbies.” he chuckled, knowing he was teasing his coworker.

 

“But no one knows him personally really, so no embarrassing stories to tell ya.” he added with a small shrug.

[Castleofbones]

"That's kind of... Sad really. Hasn't he got drunk one night and made a huge mistake? Hasn't he just had fun and let his hair down? Hasn't he just enjoyed himself?" I asked, now understanding that all Xeiro did was work, eat and sleep. which is why his apartment was so clean and tidy. Well I was going to change that. That guy needed to have some fun and I was going to show it to him I decided.

 

"And as for Hunters like Lance- all they're good for are for human shields or trainers. I don't understand why veterans still go on missions. They're old so they can't move as fast and their bodies are as supple as they are when they are young. what they should do is retire and teach the young ones so less young hunters are killed because of their own ignorance. The veterans could pass on their wisdom and knowledge. That's my opinion anyway" I said talking to Archer but not so subtly insulting Lance at the same time.

[Envy]

Archer looked to Lance and then back at Zac and shook his head on a chuckle

 

“That is what most of them do, if they live that long enough that is.” he said before he motioned for another round on his drink.

 

Today was his day off, so he felt like he could indulge a little.

 

“And what are you exactly Zac?” he asked him as he turned his attention back to the tall man. “It's not hard for me to tell your not human. And if you were, you would never had made it out of Simons place, let alone summon money as you said.”