Demon Diaries
Another Mouth to Feed
Disclaimer: Although I wish I owned the cast of Demon Diaries, sadly I do not. The incredible Kara has that honor. I've often asked myself, "If not the whole cast, then at least Eclipse." But alas. I am, however, the creator of Sae.
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance/Humor
Pairings: I am fully supportive of Raenef/Eclipse. I am not, however, supportive of Erutis/Chris. So the pairing will be Chris/Sae. Those of you who do not approve of Yaoi, turn back now.
Summary: Eclipse has had his hands full with tutoring Raenef in proper demon behavior and maintaining the budget after the arrival of the knight Erutis and the future-high cleric Chris. He has also been combating his feelings for a certain student. So when Raenef runs into an old friend of his from the Thief's Guild, the fireworks are going to fly. And what is it about this eccentric thief that entices Chris so?
The Market Excursion
"This... is... so cool! Oh, thank you Eclipse!"
Raenef bounced about happily, munching on the caramelized apple Eclipse had allowed him to purchase. Eclipse, demon of the third order, grimaced at his Lord's childish demonstration of pleasure and smiled inwardly at his Lord's delight.
Raenef, the laughingstock of the entire demon society, had requested that he and his companions go on an excursion to the Market. Raenef had been there once before, which was when he met Chris, the future High Cleric of Rased, and a pain in the ass. Chris' head drooped. He was so close to the place where he had been raised, but there was nothing he could do about it. The slightly depressed boy walked a stride or two behind the redheaded knight, Erutis. She had been plotting her escape from the demons for some while. They were, after all, in a crowded area and there were no restraints on her.
"So..." Erutis tried to strike up a conversation, "why are we here again?"
Eclipse sighed, "The young master wished to travel about the Market and we couldn't possibly leave the brave knight and the powerful cleric alone, could we?"
"Are you mocking me?" Erutis glared intensely at Eclipse. "Yes," was Eclipse's quick response.
"Oh. You're so cruel..." Erutis stammered.
"It's okay Eru," Raenef comforted her with the pet name she had allowed him to use, "we're going to have a fun-filled day!" And with that, Raenef dashed ahead.
"Always the optimist, that one," Chris snickered as he strode up beside Erutis.
"Chris, I have a plan."
"What?"
"A plan! On how to escape!"
"Oh! Divulge, please divulge?"
"Okay. You'll shoot one of your Holy Bolt thingies and shatter something. That'll distract Eclipse and Raenef just long enough for us to worm our way through the crowd! Being in a populated area, Eclipse wouldn't dare try to stop us!" Erutis looked quite triumphant.
Chris caught on quickly, "Then we can go to the church! We'll have salvation!"
"Okay, on my count. One... two..."
"You'll do no such thing."
The two guilty conspirers turned about to face an angry Eclipse and a sorrowful Raenef.
"You don't want to stay with us anymore?" he sobbed, genuinely sad, for Raenef knew not how to be any other way but genuine.
"It does not matter master," Eclipse smirked, "You see, before we left, I charmed them so that neither could walk more than ten feet from you nor I."
"WHAT!" Erutis ran full speed in the opposite direction, only to come to a screeching halt ten feet away.
Eclipse and Raenef pressed on, "I told you so."
"Well, so much for that plan," Chris patted a dazed Erutis gently on the head as he walked by.
"It was full proof too," Erutis scrambled to her feet. The two "prisoners" walked directly behind Eclipse and Raenef, engaged in their own conversation. The bustling villagers scampering about entranced Raenef. Eclipse's gaze was fixated on his young liege, merrily prancing beside him.
I should... look away now! This is wrong. He is my student and master. I should not be wishing to please him that way and furthermore...
"Eclipse?" Raenef piped up.
Eclipse was brought back from his thoughts, "Yes Lord?"
Raenef's head drooped slightly before he mumbled, "Do you think... um..."
Eclipse placed a hand on Raenef's shoulder, bringing the odd quartet to a halt, "It is alright, little master. What is it that you think?" Eclipse was almost always sensitive towards Raenef.
Erutis and Chris grumbled at the delay. Chris' dismay, while not exactly relevant, was true. Erutis was more interested in watching the interaction between demon lord student and demon teacher. Erutis was not entirely sure of Raenef's feelings toward his humble servant, but it was obvious to her that Eclipse felt something just a tad more.
"Well..." Raenef had been building up the courage to ask Eclipse this question for some time, "Eclipse I really want to..."
"STOP! THIEF!"
A husky woman's voice broke their concentration. The group turned to see a tiny form carrying a loaf of bread dash down a small alley.
Raenef looked up at Eclipse desperately, "We have to help!"
"My Lord, it is just a common thief. You need not concern..." Eclipse was cut short but Raenef's frightening glare. He had forgotten that Raenef had once been a thief himself.
Eclipse turned to Chris, "You know this town better than any of us. Where would the thief be heading?"
Chris was perplexed as to why Eclipse and Raenef were willing to aid a common thief, but he didn't question either of them, "That alley leads to a series of back streets and comes out on the other side of the Market. Follow me!" Chris dashed ahead with the other trio tailing him closely. Worming their way through the tightly packed crowd was frustrating for Eclipse. It took much less hassle to merely say "Go" and reappear, but since he did not know where the thief was heading, he had no choice except to follow the boy cleric.
"Chris, are you sure you know where we're going?" Erutis yelled to him.
"Positive! We're almost to the other side just a bit further!"
The other side of the Market was almost identical to the first side, except for the different variety of shops.
Raenef realized this and sped ahead of Chris, "The alley should be down here!"
"Young Lord, please wait up!" Eclipse was having trouble keeping Raenef in his sight.
Erutis had her wooden practice sword drawn in the event that the thief wasn't as delighted about the help offered to him as they thought he should be. Having any sort of weapon at hand in a crowd can cause a bit of an upstart. People watched, fascinated by the quartet of sprinters heading towards the alley.
Eventually, and nearly out of breath, they reached the alley. Erutis, Chris, and Eclipse slowed their pace, but Raenef continued on full speed.
"We must keep moving," Eclipse urged the others, and himself, on.
"Eclipse," Erutis panted, "Raenef can handle himself. It's just a little thief and he's a demon lord. Do the math!"
Eclipse paid Erutis' words no heed. He stormed down the alley after his care.
Meanwhile, Raenef's legs were protesting he carry on. Raenef came to a stand still. Disappointed in his lack of endurance, he peered down the twisting alley. There was no sign of the thief they had been pursuing.
"Lord!"
Raenef turned towards the sound of his tutor.
"Eclipse, I think we missed him. We didn't make it in time," Raenef's eyes were beginning to tear up.
Eclipse still couldn't understand Raenef's desire to assist those who had raised him against his choice, but he couldn't deny those tear-filled eyes that captivated him so hauntingly.
"It's okay, Lord. I'm sure the thief will get away fine. He looked quite capable of taking care of himself."
By this time, Erutis and Chris had managed to drag themselves over to where Eclipse and Raenef was, not being able to remain more than ten feet from either of them.
"Can we go home now? My feet are killing me!" Erutis moaned.
"You shouldn't be complaining," Chris noted, "you're a knight and should be used to this."
"She's right though, we should return home," Eclipse wasn't sure what else to do to comfort his young liege.
Suddenly, a young girl bearing a cold loaf of bread and donned in a torn dress that may or may not have been meant to reveal so much skin knocked Raenef into Eclipse's arms. Her waist-length hair was tied back in a braid, weaving the blond and auburn strands together. Her eyes were a blue-gray shade that clashed with her fair skin.
"What the hell!? Could you watch where you're going?" the girl, who was confirmed to be the thief by the bread she possessed, yelled up at Raenef.
Raenef turned to face the thief and they both gasped in utter astonishment.
"Sae?" Raenef extended a hand to help her up.
"Rae?" She took it, discarding the bread.
Eclipse, Chris, and Erutis watched the strange scene unfold before them. In a flash, the demon lord and thief had embraced and were cheering in sheer delight.
The girl (who's name was obviously Sae) looked Raenef up and down before concluding, "Rae, I can't believe it's you! I thought you were killed by the guards!"
"I... uh... escaped," Raenef was too ecstatic to risk ruining the moment by revealing his new title. "Sae, I thought you had been captured! But here you are! I was so worried! What have you been doing with yourself?"
"Well, I..." Sae stopped suddenly when her eyes fell upon Eclipse. She stepped up to him and batted her eyes playfully, "I'm Sae. Did I mention I'm single?"
"Did I mention that I don't care?" Eclipse glared at her coldly.
Sae shrank back towards Raenef, "Never mind. Damn."
Raenef exclaimed quickly, "Why don't we go back to my place, and we can catch up, okay?" He smiled happily.
"You're place?" Sae was just a bit shocked.
The Past and Introductions
Sae entered the enormous castle, mouth agape.
"You... you live... here?" she stammered in Raenef's general direction.
"Uh... yeah. Sort of." Raenef still wasn't sure how to explain to his reunited friend that he was a demon lord.
"Eclipse, could you make us some tea please?" Raenef clapped a hand over his mouth quickly.
"LORD RAENEF! HOW MANY TIMES MUST I TELL YOU!?"
"I know, I know! Never say 'please'. Sorry Eclipse. Oops!"
Eclipse through his hands up in frustration.
"Hey!" Sae stepped up to him, "Don't yell at him! Who are you to speak to... 'Lord Raenef'?" Sae's eyes widened, "Oh."
"Eclipse. Tea. Now!" Raenef ordered as he led Sae to a couch by the fireplace.
Eclipse was impressed and hurried off to do his master's bidding.
Sae sat on the couch next to her dear friend and across from the knight and cleric who watched her quizzically. Erutis held a look of genuine amusement, whereas Chris had an expression of confusion. There was something about the girl that just wasn't quite right.
"I guess I should explain some things before Eclipse comes back," Raenef suggested.
Sae nodded silently.
"Sae... I am a demon lord. Raenef, the fifth demon lord to be precise. Eclipse is a demon. He's teaching me how to behave like a malicious demon lord should." Raenef explained this all rapidly.
Sae just shook her head and smiled in utter disbelief. "My little Rae is a demon lord?" Raenef nodded eagerly. "I always knew there was somethin' special about you, but this is too much."
Eclipse had returned with the tea and took a seat across from Raenef. The girl is taking this news a little too well.
"Wait!" Sae looked up from her tea, "If you're a demon lord, then what are you doing with a knight and a Cleric of Rased?"
"That's a long story," Erutis intervened. The episode was still vividly humiliating to her. "I'm Erutis."
"I'm Chris, the next High Cleric of Rased," Chris was monotonous, which Eclipse found to be rather unusual.
"So, before you two start reminiscing without us, how about giving us a bit of your history?" Erutis mentioned to Sae.
Sae looked thrilled at the prospect of sharing stories with the new companions, "Oh! Rae and I go back quite a ways."
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The little, blonde boy sat in the street weeping heavily. His mud-stained rags were torn and splotches of blood were visible. "Devil child" they all called him. He wasn't a "devil child" he cried out to no one in particular. No one cared about the orphaned boy that brought bad luck. He watched the floods of people pass by.
Suddenly, he looked up into the blue-gray eyes of a girl not much older than himself. A group of older boys dressed in rags stood protectively over her.
"Who... are you?" the boy sniffed.
The girl embraced the boy, "I'm Sae. And you're comin' home with us."
"I'm Raenef," the boy mumbled happily.
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"That's a lovely story," Erutis sighed.
"Yup," Sae wrapped her arms protectively around Raenef, "I taught him everything he knows. I'm like his big sister!"
Raenef blushed slightly, "Sae, no more embarrassing stories, okay?"
"You got it kiddo."
"So, what happened to you after the Guild broke apart?" Erutis questioned.
"Well, I really couldn't get hired out by anyone after having been a thief. So, I just kept up the gig, ya know? I am quite 'skilled' in my work." With this, Sae laughed half-heartedly. Eclipse watched Raenef's joyful expression waver slightly.
Does Raenef resent her being a thief? Eclipse decided this was not the case and shook off the idea.
"Lord Raenef," Eclipse stood and looked to Raenef, "it is time for your demon lord history lessons. Say your farewells to the girl and I shall meet you in the study. Go!" and Eclipse went.
"Okay, I have to go, too. Chris and Erutis can show you to a room. I really don't care which one you occupy. This house is too empty anyway. Oh! Bye! Go!" and Raenef was gone as well.
"That's cool," Sae commented.
Erutis grabbed Sae's arm and began dragging her down the hallway. Chris, his mind full of suspicions, followed after. Sae tried desperately to take in everything she was witnessing.
"Okay, are you gonna explain to me what you two are doing here?" Sae asked.
"I'd rather not," Chris mumbled.
"Yeah," Erutis agreed, "that's not important. I am so happy! Now I'm not the only girl!"
"What?" Sae stopped suddenly, "You're a girl!?"
"You couldn't tell?" Erutis sobbed.
"It's just, well..." Sae tried to explain, "With the armor and all, you can't see if you have a figure or not. Plus, there aren't that many girl knights. So..." Erutis contemplated this, "I guess apology accepted. The armor is a little deceiving. Okay, let's get you settled in!" She glared back at Chris.
"I can take a hint. I'm gone," Chris reluctantly trudged in the opposite direction.
Erutis and Sae dashed down the hallway to a lavishly decorated room. Sae had never seen anything this exquisite before. She immediately leapt onto the satin covered bed.
"Ah! So this is what it's like to live it big!" Sae sighed and closed her eyes. They flickered back open when she felt the bed lower. Erutis was sitting on the edge.
"Since you and 'Rae' go back a while, I guess you'll get to stay here!" Erutis smiled.
Sae sat up and pondered this for a moment. "Um... what's the deal with that Eclipse guy? Not very sociable is he?"
"Not in the least."
The two girls burst out in laughter and continued to talk of girly things.
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Meanwhile, out in the courtyard, Chris was watching Raenef get yelled at by Eclipse for not having memorized the names of battles of some sort.