Forest Of Devils [Saiko/Vanyel]

Normally, Vanyel would avoid places like these. The Suicide Forest, in name alone, was enough to make a lot of people keep their distance, not to mention the amount of nooses and needles that seemed to appear faster than officials could clean them out. Thankfully, he wasn't down in the dumps enough to consider it, but, places of legend and myth like these often caught his attention.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the only thing that was drawing attention. From what he could only really guess was a byproduct of his demon blood, he had been harassed pretty frequently by Hollows lately. It was good exercise, but damn if it didn't get really annoying. He didn't know too much about Hollows, just that they were what could happen to humans after death, and that they were creatures centered in the negative human emotions.

Having already taken down a couple of Hollows that decided to swarm him, Vanyel took a few steps back as another approached. He readjusted his grip on his jian, Kuro Komo, and slipped forward to cut through the creature with efficiency. As he was sheathing his weapon and sending it back to his Chasm Point, he could sense demon energy and smell someone of demon blood. But, it wasn't just that -- there was something else there that felt eerily familiar. Raising an eyebrow, Vanyel's eyes shined an even brighter blue as he looked around to pinpoint the source.

Surprisingly, they weren't too far away. He couldn't make out the shape all that well, only the energy source, so, he started moving toward them. Just as he was a couple feet away, they called out. It was a woman's voice. As he came into view, Vanyel's expression turned puzzled for a moment, before it hit him. That's why it felt familiar -- it had been a while, but he still could remember who she was. Moving a bit closer so that he didn't have to yell, Vanyel's eyes dimmed back to the usual ocean blue as he spoke.

"Huh. Been a while. You're Saiko, right? Archduchess of Shadow Fall's...Sixth Circle, wasn't it? Or, I guess, former at this point, since Shadow Fall is long gone."

While he didn't know the girl on a personal level, it was hard for someone to be in the position that she had held without others noticing. But, unlike him, it didn't seem like any of it was her choice. Regret was something that they both shared, it seemed. He leaned against one of the trees nearby, keeping his gaze fixed to her as he watched her expressions shift, before speaking again, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

He wasn't surprised by the question. There were probably countless people who wondered if his convertor was an Asthavon or not, but she was currently the first to have asked him unprompted. But, even with his lack of surprise at the question, his expression briefly shifted before he answered, looking tired, upset, and regretful all the same. Even with how long it had been, the wound still stung as if it were fresh.

"Yep. Mana's daughter, Calypso. Dunno if you know or even heard o' her, but, with how similar your blood is, I'm guessin' you got changed by the head honcho? Or, somethin' to that extent?"

Vanyel's gaze softened as he heard Mana's voice, albeit briefly. She was probably in even more pain than he was. For all the love he had for her -- the love and grief of a mother to their child was unparalleled. He turned to look at the forest floor as his mind began to drift. But, Saiko's words brought him back to reality, his eyes narrowing. They really had both been fucked over by Asthavons. While he was thankfully Calypso hadn't made him do anything like that, he felt bad for the girl. She never asked for it, and got stuck being turned into a criminal of the worst proportions.

"Sorry you had to go through that. Not too dissimilar from me. I was basically leverage for Algos to fuck with Calypso's head. If I had stayed in Demon World, she probably would have kidnapped and tortured me, just to mess with her."

It was a mess of a situation. Calypso pulling her damn disappearing act all the time, Algos being a looming threat and constant presence in his nightmares, and there he was, stuck in the middle of it all, trying to keep the one he loved safe from a world and its people that never cared about him in the first place. As the girl gripped her now suddenly flaming eye, Vanyel flicked his wrist. In an instant, a set of throwing knives manifested between his fingers, ready to throw. It was mostly just a precaution, in case things got dicey -- you could never tell when dealing with demons.

His fingers tensed, then relaxed as the surge of demonic blood receded. dismissing the knives with another brief motion.

"Gettin' somethin' back that I shouldn't have thrown away. I'm tryin' to turn back into a human again."

Vanyel remained silent at first, folding his arms across his chest as he let more of his weight press against the tree. His expression softened, sighing softly as she spoke about Algos. Even in the depths of his own hatred for the woman for what she had done to both of them, there was something that kept him from saying things like that.

He'd call her a psychotic bitch, a brat, a cunt, as well as any other obscenity he could think of, yet, he stopped at that. He didn't even know what it was that he felt. Anger? Yeah, no shit. Fear? How couldn't he? The woman was basically a god compared to him. But, he still never said anything like that...he couldn't. He didn't know why. He didn't forgive her, nothing close to it.

Maybe it was pity. Maybe, deep down, he was still afraid of her. He sighed, fighting the urge to reach into his jacket for a cigarette. Even now, how he felt about the whole thing was so damn confusing.

"Sounds like I got off easy compared to you. She beat the shit out of me, but most of the things that happened were all second-hand. Calypso...we were together. She beat and raped Calypso, drugged her and tried to make her watch as the bitch tried to kill her friend. Dunno about PTSD, but, she still appears plenty in my nightmares."

The thought of it caused his body to tremble, the amount of times he'd see her standing there with that unmoving, mask-like face that bore into his soul. On instinct, Vanyel pulled out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a long drag from it, shuddering as a wave of relation slowly washed over him. He turned to face Saiko again, his head having unconsciously moved away while he was briefly lost in thought, unaware of the mist that had helped to relax him.

"I'm, uh...workin' on that. Might have found a source to do it, but, it shouldn't be too difficult. It's only been about...a year, almost two. I don't want to be stuck like this anymore. I feel like I'm in someone else's body, and I hate it."

When she suggested them get off the mountain, it had made Vanyel realize just how high up he had gone when dealing with those Hollows. Nodding, Vanyel slipped his hands into his pockets and beginning the trek down the side of the mountain. He heard her oppose his thoughts that he got off easy, and he couldn't disagree more. He hardly was the one who got the brunt of it all, he wasn't even worth anything in Algos' eyes. All she cared about was Calypso. He was just a means to an end for her. They weren't close. She was just willing to use him to get back at her, to get her way.

"Me 'n Algos aren't close. She doesn't give a shit about me at all, really. I'm just someone she thinks she can use to fuck with Caly."

He might have been a victim, but he didn't believe his own torment to be anything worthwhile compared to what his partner had gone through. If it meant that she would have gone through less pain and suffering, though, he would have taken her place without hesitation. But, Saiko pulled him from his thoughts by asking a peculiar question: what was he going to do once he had done it?

"Mm...well, I guess try and live life like I did before. I'll probably have to build my strength back up again, but, I know someone who'd be more than happy to help with that. Look after Ari, keep in touch with people, maybe get some work at an auto shop or somethin'. Ain't really a lot else for me to do. My girlfriend is dead, the kid she was carryin' is too, and...I don't have a lot left. Everythin' that happened in the last few years has kinda...collapsed and disappeared."

He paused for a moment, his voice lowering.

"Caly 'n I were gonna have a kid...and I was actually lookin' forward to bein' a father..."