Untitled as of Yet...

This story has taken me weeks to write, and I like it.

A girl lay, spread-eagled, in the midst of a tangle of branches and straw that made up a nest. She was dressed in a powder blue sundress, and her long lavender hair fanned out behind her. The nest lay in a field of knee high grass and flowers that could grow taller than a fully grown male. She was gazing up at the cloudless sky, thoughts wandering, when she heard a whisper of conversation, carried to her across the breeze. Instantly she sat up, cupping her hand around her ear and facing in the direction of the noise. A man, dressed in a navy blue outfit, was conversing with a girl wearing the exact same dress as she was.

'Come home with me. I'll take care of you.' The man's voice floated faintly towards her, and the pair started walking in her direction.

'Night?' she called when they were close enough to hear. 'Who's this?'

Night of No Stars smiled.

'River, this is Dawn. Dawn, River.'

River started smiling too. When Night felt something, it was hard not to feel the same way.

'Well, hi! My name's River of Darting Salmon, but Night calls me River, so i guess you can too!' River said immediately, glad to finally have someone to talk to.

'Um... you can call me Dawn, I guess. Everyone does- er, did,' she murmured. She looked shy, and uncomfortable.

'So. What kind of demon are you?' River asked innocently. This was a common question between others of her kind, but it took Dawn by surprise.

'Demon? What are you talking about? I'm no demon!' Dawn said, confused and offended.

'Not a demon? You mean... human? But... what are you doing out here? This is demon country. It's not safe, not even for me. That's why we live apart,' River said curiously, a hint of worry in her voice.

'Well... this was the only place I could go,' Dawn said quietly.

She looked up, met River's questioning gaze, and sighed. Wordlessly she pulled her black hair away from her face, revealing a black eye with a red iris.

'I got this from a demon I defeated,' she explained. 'He scratched my eye out, so I took his. But when my parents found out... they wanted to send me to a freak show. When I refused, they beat me senseless. After a while it all got too much. So i had to kill them. After that, I was exiled for murder.' Dawn's voice was expressionless, but her eyes were shining with unshed tears.

River put an arm around Dawn's sholder and hugged her close.

'I killed my parents, too,' River murmured.

'Really? Why?' Dawn asked gently.

River smiled slightly.

'I had to do something to take the pain away,' she said simply, as if that explained everything.

'Pain?'

River nodded.

'The first time it happened was when I was twelve. On my birthday, i was seized by a sudden attack of pain. It hurt so bad, I couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything. I wanted to kill myself to make it stop. But I was selfish, and valued my life above all others. So i did something, passed out, and woke up with the pain gone and the bodies of my family all around.' River sighed, then smiled brightly. 'But that's all in the past.'

Dawn nodded.

'So. You asked me what kind of demon I was, and i told you. What kind are you?' she demanded, fiercely.

River laughed at the intensity of her question before answering.

'Me? I'm a soul demon. One of the rarest kinds, or so I'm told,' she declared, puffing out her chest with pride.

'What kind of powers do yu have? Like, what can you do?' Dawn asked, genuinely interested.

'Well, I can't show you how I harvest souls, because I only take human souls and you're the only human nearby. How about I show you a soul instead?' River asked.

Dawn nodded eagerly. River reached into a pouch at her side and pulled out a glowing ball of light. It was a pure white colour.

'This is a pure soul. The owner of this had committed no crimes, major or minor. When tainted, the colour darkens progressively to black. All demon souls are black because all have committed serious crimes,' she explained.

'There are two ways to absorb a soul. One is to crush it in your hand; this is fast, but requires strength - souls are stronger than they look. The other is to push the soul gently into your chest, directly baove your heart. This method is impractical, as it takes longer, and gives off light.' She demonstrated the latter method, and true to her word, her whole body glowed fiercely for a few seconds. Dawn was staring at her in wonder.

'How do you get them?' she asked excitedly.

'Well, there are three ways. The most commonly used method is kissing. It's by far the easiest. Next, you could pierce the skin and draw the soul out, bit by bit, but this can take hours with a wilful target, so it isn't worth the trouble, really. Lastly...' River tailed off, trying to find a way to phrase the last method without scaring Dawn.

'Lastly, you could... eat their heart. This is the most potent method, as the soul is kept in the heart, but it is infrequently practiced as it is vile and inhumane.' When she looked up at Dawn, the girl had gone visibly pale.

'River, how many soul demons are there around here?' she asked, her voice trembling.

River thought for a moment before answering.

'Um... I'm the only one within a few miles. Why do you ask?'

'My village is about a mile and a half from here. Last year, a close friend of ours - Belle - was killed. She had a huge wound where her heart should have been. I was told that she was attacked by a wild animal. But now you've told me this...' Dawn trailed off uncertaintly.

River hung her head and whispered an apology.

'River.... How could you?' Dawn screamed. 'I loved Belle! Loved her! And now... I hate you!' With that, Dawn leapt out of the nest, and started to run, sobbing, in the direction of her village.

'Dawn!' River yelled after her, but the attempt was in vain.

A slight cough reminded her of Night's prescence. When she turned, he was smiling sadly at her, shaking his head slightly.

'Perhaps it was a bit too early to tell her that, my daughter,' he said quietly, gently. He always referred to River as 'my daughter', even though they weren't related.

River glared half-heartedly in his direction. She was upset not only over the fact that she had scared Dawn away, but that she had lost yet another friend.

'Night... do you think I should go to her village and try to explain?' she asked despairingly.

Night nodded assent, and River moved on to her next question.

'Could you cast an illusion charm, so that I may enter the village unnoticed?' This time, Night hardened his expression.

'No. You have to face whatever judgement the villagers have in store for you. I will cast no spells to aid you this time.'

River sighed.

'Sometimes, Night, you can be so unfair.' She began to brush dirt into her hair in an attempt to disguise the colour. 'I will depart at first light. But now -' she glanced up at the darkening sky, '- we should get some sleep.'

River almost fell backwards onto the soft floor of the nest from exhaustion, but checked herself and lowered herself more gracefully. Within minutes, she was asleep.

Author's Note

I'm not finished yet. Incomplete!

Yes, I know that I need proper paragraphs. Yes, I know that there is too much talking. Yes, I know that there are grammatical errors. Care to point them out?