Phantom's Shift
There was something in the quiet that had the woman lifting her head from the large, old book, blinking around the top, 'public' layer of the archives. Settled at a table in the library the woman looked around the semi open area, the paper witch was sitting with her back to the book shelves. Reaching up she pulled her headphones off and listened, had something moved?
The woman hummed and called softly to the feline that had come with her, the former temple cat but didn't see the pale form anywhere. Cassidy looked down at the old book, slipping a paper into it, with several inches of the page marking her spot in case it closed before getting up. Moving away from her lamp, she formed a light spell in the form of a sphere to hold up as it would save on power, nor show outside the windows of the charmed building.
As Cassidy looked about, the shadows pulled back away from the light, as was the usual, normal thing to do. Everything was as fine and good as it should be, at present. Nothing out of place, nothing amiss...
And yet, something definitely felt off. It wasn't a bad kind of off, just... off. As if something was going to, or already had, happen that wasn't supposed to happen in a library, regardless how magical or unmagical it was.
Somewhere behind her, just out of the light's range, the shadows briefly darkened, black as pitch and swirling ominously as a stranger calmly, silently, stepped through. His pearly hat was tilted down to hide the upper half of his face, leaving just his darkly red-toned chin and mouth visible. His hair was a soft blond, fringed with a light orange. His spotless, white-as-snow suit was perfectly pressed and cared for. The black cane in his hand, crowned by what appeared to be a gold-colored gargoyle head, perfectly tended and polished, the eyes of the gargoyle glittering, blood red rubies.
This mysterious stranger paused, tilting his hat just enough to glance at the paper witch before him. His lips curved into an amused smile, pointed canines just barely poking from beneath his upper lip. Casually he leaned against the bookcase beside him, watching the little witch in amusement before finally speaking up. "Fancy meeting you here, Dolly."
The response had almost no hesitation, the white witch giving a scream as she jumped further away and flailed her magic to grab the loose paper from a table. Forming a shield out of it as she spun, overbalanced and fell down before the creature, eyes wide and staring up at the towering Monster from ground level.
The white-clad figure laughed in amusement as he tipped his hat back to reveal his face, his skin crimson and his eyes a solid black, glittering with intrigue and what was likely innocent mischief. "You're plenty short as it is without needing to stare up at me from down there." He grinned, his semi-pointed teeth having an odd, somewhat unnerving look about them, though not so pointed that they appeared to be outright demonic.
"Need a hand getting up again?"
"...you jerk!" Cassidy yelled once she placed the voice, pointing up at him, "Gre-ta!" She ordered and a there was an army of squeaking from the paper-cranes that woke up and started to dive bomb the Monster in vengeance, though the paper creatures weren't a harm.
The most that happened was he hid his face with his hat, laughing as he ducked his head, "Hey hey now, easy Dolly! I wasn't trying to scare you too bad, honest. Just decided I'd pop in and say hello, that's all."
The woman glared from her spot, but after a moment waved her hand and the squeaking army dispersed back into the library. Cassidy winced as she shifted, half sitting on her loose hair, and moved to get off it with a pout, "You're still a jerk Tonio." She told the monster.
Tonio chuckled as he put his hat back on his head properly, and walked over, his staff eerily staying on its end as he let go of it and leaned down, quite happily picking her up and setting her gently on her feet, "Yeah yeah, evil monster from dark realms beyond comprehension. I've heard the spiel." He said, chuckling in amusement. "But you can't say you aren't happy to see me."
Cassidy brushed off her blouse, taking a moment to glare up at the monster again. Then she stepped closer and hugged him, arms wrapping around his neck and snuggling under the fiend's chin. "I can't."
Tonio grinned all the more as she did this, hugging her close once he was closer to her eye level- he felt he should at least bend down a bit so she could hug him properly, and remarking. "So, how has my favorite little mistress been doing?"
"Hiding from hunters, being sick and looking for a coven." Cassidy admitted against the suit, sighing before jumping at the touch of a living shadow from the monster.
"Hiding from hunters?" Tonio asked, instantly worried. "Where? Why? Who are they and what do they want to do with you?" He frowned, very much concerned. "Do I have to start stabbing people, Dolly?"
The paper witch pulled back, shaking her head, "No, their nightmares Tonio, controlled by bad casters, we don't know where their coming from." she looked up at the black eyes, "I'm safe here though, and in the arvived, and home. the hunter almost never come out in the day too."
The well-dressed fiend frowned, crossing his arms as she pulled out of his reach and remarking. "I still say it needs to be stopped, Dolly. If someone's messing with your head then it's gotta stop." He frowned, humming in consideration before snapping his fingers. "I got it. I'll stick around until that thing shows up, and we'll get rid of it. Badabing, badaboom, end of problem... ooor I could just track down the caster responsible and give him a few new piercings, that could work too. I hear body piercing is a fad here in your world anyway."
Cassidy paled notably and shook her head, hugging her arms, "Noo, no, no, bad idea Tonio." she shivered, "Dark Hunters, once they get a scent of magic they don't let go of it. And the fire witches have been trying to track the casters for decades."
"Does it look like I'm afraid of them?" Tonio asked, still studying her with stubbornness, concern, and dislike for the situation. "Cass, your life is being plagued, and even if I didn't feel like I wanted to, it'd still be my job to protect you. It's what this whole contract thing is about. And frankly? Even if you weren't my mistress, I'd still do it. Humans are good enough at killing each other without resorting to this sort of warfare. I'm not budging."
"You may not be afraid but I am," Cassidy shivered, "Tonio, I've see what's happened to white witches, even normal humans after a dark hunter gets them. I've helped those that are being tracked get into the safety of the archives over the years too. I'm not actively hunted either, I'm safe here at work and at home." she reached out to grasp one of the larger hands of the fiend in both of hers. "Really. I'm not in danger right now."
He raised a yellow-blond eyebrow as he watched her, frowning as he moved his hand so, rather than her holding onto one of his, he was holding hers with both of his own. "You do know you're doing nothing to ease my worry, right?" He remarked quietly, his voice surprisingly soft compared to his usual, bordering cheeky tone. "First you tell me you're being hunted, then you tell me it's nightmares and dark hunters, THEN you say you've seen what kind of horrific things happen to other little witches who are just as white in magic, if not whiter, than you? And say after that, that even 'normal' humans get royally messed up? ...I don't think that's going to help assure me you aren't in danger."
He sighed, shaking his head a little before gently tugging her closer so he was hugging her again. "You're not good at the whole diplomacy and bluffing thing, are you?"
Cassidy was blushing, the witch shaking her head as she looked down, "For what its worth, I didn't mean to upset you, nor that I was literally being hunted. As for nightmares, that's what the creatures are called."
He studied her for a moment before sighing, shifting so he was holding her with one arm, and pausing a moment to take his very coveted hat off his head, plopping it gently onto hers. "Because that helps." He remarked, expression tired, yet vaguely amused at the same time. "Listen Dolly, you're not going to ease my worrying by saying that there's creatures hunting you that are called nightmares. You know where I'm from, and you've seen what kind of trouble I get into; if people are slinging dark magic around here, I'm not going to just up and let it go, okay?"
Blushing a little more under the hat, Cassidy still tried to blindly hug the monster, "Alright. But how about I call if I'm in real trouble?" she offered against the fiend's lower chest as he was still kneeling down.
He laughed faintly. "And how am I going to know that you'll actually call, or if you'll not call because you're scared for my health?" He asked, grinning a little as he lightly toyed with her hair, his crimson fingers gently dancing through the strands, enjoying the soft, smooth feel of it as it slid over his skin.
"How about you're likely higher on the scary meter then I am?" Cassidy offered letting go to move the hat and be able to look up at the black eyes, "my puppies come when I need them."
The fiend grinned even more at her usage of his term. "Of course I am, Dolly; I'm practically a nightmare all on my own. I just behave when I feel it's a good time to. But that doesn't answer my question; how will I know you actually are going to call me?"
Cassidy considered the question, she wasn't about to swear on the living shadows- those scared her still. More so the wilds ones. She looked up again, putting a hand over her collar bone, "I promise, with my white magic. If I need help I'll call for it." She took her hand away, and something glittered warm and gold in her palm as she moved to take one of the Monster's larger hands.
Tonio let her manipulate his hand to her heart's content, eyebrow lifted as he watched in amusement, and curiosity. "I'll hold you to it, Dolly; if you break that promise I'll be liable to pop up unannounced and just scoop you up into my arms rather than say hi first."
The paper witch huffed softly, and opened her hand. When she touched the fiend this time, it was vastly different. Not the same as those healing spells, but magic. It was her magic, clean and white, maybe not exactly pure but compared to many things in the Shadow realm it might as well be.
It was so different, yet natural as Cassidy started to trace a symbol in Tonio's palm. Concentrating as she did so on the simple but strong spell that was unaffected by the Shadows.
The fiend watched as she traced on his palm, his fingers twitching a little, but his hand otherwise unmoving as he observed her actions. He wanted to make a comment, but knew better than to interrupt a mage in the middle of casting, and as such held his tongue for the time being. Cassidy took a deep breath, holding it before gently letting it out as she finished by tracing her initials over the not quite man's palm. She drew back and pulsed her magic softly, felling the echo in the fading light of Tonio's palm.
"There. Even if I can't call, you'll know if I'm casting in that 'oh gods save me' level of oh-shit."
The phantom studied the symbol patterns, even if he couldn't see them, before nodding in satisfaction. "That makes me feel a lot better. At least this way I know I can turn up when you need me most, which is a lot better than how it was before, I'm sure."
"Last time you fell out of my deck," Cassidy pointed out, adjusting the white hat again, it looked so much bigger on her. The woman smiled as she couldn't help wondering what her friend would think if that happened with Simon around.
Tonio laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, but I had a legit reason for that, Dolly. Getting smacked like a baseball by a dragon tends to make people do weird and desperate stuff to survive." The paper witch winced, and didn't know what to say to that. The only Dragon kin she knew of was mostly human. Tonio noticed this and shook his head a bit. "That dragon's a bit of a grump anyway, trust me. I don't like being in his territory, and he certainly doesn't like anyone else being there either."
"Have you been staying out of trouble?" Cassidy asked, peering up into the red face of the fiend, worried a little.
Tonio grinned at her, "As best I can, Dolly. Hard staying out of trouble in my neck of the woods, but I do what I can. Besides, I haven't come flying out of your deck aside from the one incident, so I'm not too scuffed up."
Cassidy considered, and then she brightened up, "Have you seen any of my puppies?" she asked, smiling up at Tonio.
He smiled and nodded as he watched her, absently toying with her hair again. "I have, actually. One of them decided it'd be fun to chase me up a tree."
Cassidy's eyes widen, "Were you okay? they chase rabits and bring them back... I didn't think they'd chase monsters too..."
Tonio chuckled. "Oh I'm fine, honestly. I was close enough to the tree that I got up it before they could grab me. Besides, I think the worst they'd do is just pounce me and sit on me or something. They didn't really sound like they were out to get me or anything." He paused before involuntarily shuddering as a different thought crossed his mind, but he didn't comment on it.
"Are you sure?" Cassidy didn't miss the shiver in the monster, she was close enough to see it under his jacket, "I told them to be nice to who's connected to my deck."
"Oh, yeah I'm sure. Sorry Dolly, wasn't shuddering about them." The phantom assured. "There's just... eh, some other guy I don't get along with well. I'm good at dodging him too though so still nothing to worry about." He kissed the top of her head in an attempt to distract her. "Your pups are as sweet as can be."
The woman flushed, even if the kiss was over the hat, it was still an unexpected reaction.
The fiend grinned at this, chuckling in amusement as he plucked the hat off and did it again. "There, that's more like it, right?" He mumbled quietly into her hair, setting his hat so it hung on his still-upright cane.
Just how that cane of his defied gravity and logic, the world likely would never know...
Notably redder than before, and getting more and more flustered, Cassidy murmured something about wanting to sit back down at the tables. Her light spell had also gone out after that last kiss. Tonio caught this and chuckled, scooping Cassidy up into his arms - without asking, of course - and toting her back to the tables, sitting her down on one of them and chuckling in amusement. "Better?"
Squeaking the whole way over, Cassidy still felt her face was hot. She make another sound, hesitated before getting up slowly and walking over to her original table, one that had an open side for the Monster to sit down next to it, as the chairs all looked too small for him.
Tonio grinned at her, watching as she toddled off and quite happily settling himself on the floor beside the table she was at, eyeing her over before remarking with a grin. "I still think you're cute when you blush, Dolly. And you're cute in my hat. Wonder how it looks if I put them together..."
Now he was being a blatant and likely insufferable tease.
"You're horrible." Cassidy said, still flushed as she pulled her scarf up to hide her blush, "You really are."
Tonio chuckled at her. "Well I'm a fiend for a reason, Dolly. But you still love me in spite of it, and that's what matters, right?"
"Fiend is right, in a few meanings of the word not just the Monster kind." Cassidy muttered, and then sighed before peeking up over her scarf, "Of course I care about you, and my other cards, if there's Monsters or not attached." She reached over and touched the deck on the table that was partly between the two.
Tonio sighed in relief, seemingly, but grinned all the same. "That's definitely a relief. I love it when you say you love me."
"Plplpl," the witch razzed at the monster, "How did you get here? I didn't summon you."
Tonio grinned happily at her question. "I followed the connection between us, actually. Reeeeeaaal easy to do once I got a feel for it. And now here I am, visiting you and enjoying every moment of your adorable reactions."
"You... can move between realms?" Cassidy asked slowly, her dark eyes widening as she looked at the fiend, "Just like that?"
The fiend grinned all the more. "Can and have, Dolly. I'm special that way, I guess. That or I'm the only one who figured out how to do it. I like to think I'm special that way though; gives me more epic factor considering how much I'm not on the scary meter compared to other people."
"The other's can't do that," Cassidy shook her head, "Dream walk a bit, but not able to get past the Shadows."
Tonio grinned all the more. "Aha! I knew I was good for something!"
By this point he was likely being a dork just to make her giggle, or at least attempt it.
The woman smiled. "Many things I bet." she assured, "Are there any good books in the shadow realm?" Cassidy asked after a moment.
He thought about it a bit. "Yeah, on occasion I come across some good ones. Want me to find one and bring it back for you someday?"
"Is there anything on healing or history?" the paper witch asked, brightening up at the offer, but there was something that said she would be happy with anything from this new-old realm.
"Probably." Tonio replied, thinking it over a bit. "I haven't really been looking specifically for healing, but I've got no problem to try and find one for you."
Cassidy squeaked, thrilled at the idea she hopped up to hug the sitting monster, only really able to wrap her arms around him as he was sitting down.
The fiend chuckled happily as he leaned over and quite easily plucked her off her chair, holding her in his lap instead and lightly resting his head against her, "Gotcha."
"Just don't hang onto me enough to go back..." Cassidy shivered at the idea her poor tease brought up. then snuggled freely against the monster, trusting him.
"Oh trust me Dolly, I won't take you back with me." He chuckled as he kissed the top of her head again. "I love you too much to drag you off to my nightmare. Besides, I haven't cleaned up the house and it'd be horrible if you visited while it's in such a state."
"You only met me once Toino, how can you love me?" Cassidy puzzled, also a little confused of the idea what his house would be like in the Shadow Realm.
He chuckled. "I didn't say I was in love with you, not in that way at least. I care about you though; it's a different kind of love. You know, how friendship is its own kind of love and whatnot. I might be a demon in my own rights, but I'm a demon with a heart."
"I didn't mean falling in love either," Cassidy said with a blush for that and the kiss before still. "You're not a demon Tonio."
Tonio inclined his head, blinking in curiosity. "Compared to your world? Wouldn't I technically be something like that?"
"...maybe?" the paper witch said slowly, and then looked up, "But you've been kind that I know, if misled in the past it sounded like."
"No, I try to be a gentleman... to the people who deserve it." Tonio agreed. "But I'm a fiend, and... well, they're generally not on the happy bubbles side of the spectrum."
"...well, I like you," the white witch offered, looking up at black eyes.
He gave a genuine smile at that. Not a grin, not a cheeky look, but a full-blown, genuine smile. "That's one of the nicest things anyone, from any realm, has ever said to me, actually." Cassidy reached up, her hand touching the side of the monster's face, resting against the dark red skin. Her touch light, what could be considered soft, nothing like anyone from the shadow realm. Tonio blinked, staring at her in surprise as his hair tinted pink, his cheeks heating up when she touched his skin. "Heh... heheh..." It seemed the most he could manage now is a sheepish chuckle.
Cassidy smiled a little bit as she saw the real blush of the Monster, the darkening crimson on his cheek bones, not just the fiend's hair color changing, "You look nicer when you're honest." she said smiling.
He blinked, flushing even darker. "I-I... uhm... w-well, uh... th-thank you..." His hair was now the color of bubblegum as his cheeks went a beautiful shade of rose red. "I-I'll have to be honest more often..."
Cassidy smiled, and leaned forward to hug the fiend, even if his chest was too big to wrap her arms around, and the fadora hat was tilted up. Tonio was still rather red, but hugged her close to him as they sat there. He wasn't sure what else to say, but he didn't care. He loved the closeness, the ability to just sit and be loved, to an extent, by the human he believed himself to be the luckiest person alive, to have ever been in the deck of.
"...I'm glad I'm in your deck..."
The paper witch looked up with a smile, her chin on the monster's lower chest, "Its not much of a deck, but I'm glad you're with me too like the others."
Tonio laughed quietly. "But it's still a deck, is it not? So it still counts... I... I'm curious though..." He looked at her deck. "...what all is in there anyway?"
"Not many monsters that I'm linked to," Cassidy pointed at the table, "You can look. There's a lot of magic cards, Simon has been giving me some of his spares to support the three bigger monsters I have."
"Three... bigger monsters?" Tonio asked, blinking as he shifted and picked the deck up, eyeing it with curiosity. "What bigger monsters?"
Was that uncertainty in his voice? Perhaps fear he would be replaced?
"Um...those I've met in my dreams, I can't summon them yet," Cassidy started, "But they were nice, like Hadir."
"H-H-Hadir...?" Tonio sputtered, eyes widening with unease and fear. "A-as in... C-Celtic Guardian w-with a bad temper...? Th-that Hadir?"
"Bad temper?" Cassidy shifted to lean back and look up to see more of Tonio's face, "He's my only Celtic Guardian in the deck... but he's only ever been very sweet."
The fiend cringed. "Y-you... uh... clearly haven't met him on a bad day... h-he.. um... he's... not really friendly sometimes... n-not to me anyway... L-long story."
"Did you, do something Tonio?" Cassidy frowned up at her Monster, poking one of the battens on his chest. "Before? That's a reaction to something that happened." The Paper which, knowing the elf so far knew Hadir wasn't whole fond of other males in general, even other male elves.
"Whatever I did, it's definitely n-not worth all the hate he keeps th-throwing my general direction..." Tonio grumbled, shifting a little with uncertainty. "Only thing I can think of was one s-sabotage job, but I pulled out on that wh-when I saw what I was up against... ended up d-doing something else instead and claiming I finished the job... H-Hadir... he... he kinda hated me since that, I think..."
Sabotage?
Cassidy eyed the fiend, "What did you do instead? Was it in his forest?"
Tonio cringed, looking to the side as though scared to meet her gaze now. "I-I was supposed to burn his forest to the ground... th-that was the original job. H-he saw me trying to figure out wh-what to do and I kind of blurted what I was trying to do by accident... it... uh... all went downhill from there..." He nervously adjusted his jacket, or at least as best he could. "E-ended up quitting that a-and doing something else... I-I never even lit the torch though, h-honest!"
"Tonio..." Cassidy sat up, looking at the fiend as her eyes widened, "Are you the reason Hadir's old tree home fell down?"
The fiend sat there, suddenly rigid, his face and hair paling, his hair going pure white. "H-his... his home f-fell d-down? I-I... I didn't even s-set anything off! I-I may have tried a-a few tricks to escape, b-but I never...! N-nothing fell while I was there!"
Panic was obvious in his eyes as he looked frantically around just ahead of him, his gaze seeming to miss everything as he thought back on what happened. "... th-the torch... I-I... I dropped the torch... did... did it do something...? W-was it rigged? ... I-I should have found out more about that accursed thing b-before I even took it! I-it was rigged to set off regardless of if I f-failed or not!"
It seemed that this new revelation horrified him.
"What torch?" Cassidy moved out of the Monster's lap, standing before him and resting her hands on Tonio's shoulders. With him sitting she was just a smidgen taller like this, "Tonio!" She yelled, and once having his attention she pulsed her magic, "Deep breath. Take a deep breath, you're panicing and there's shadowns clinging to me now." She swallowed.
The Phantom winced, jolting back to the present and staring up at her with wide eyes. Shuddering, he flicked his fingers, forcing the shadows back away from her before struggling to snap his thoughts fully back into order. "A-a black torch... p-purple flames... made an eerie, hissing noise... l-laughter... it... I-it was almost sentient... y-yearned f-for destruction... wh-when Hadir showed up I-I panicked a-and just... j-just dropped it... it m-must've set off wh-while I was r-running for my life... I-I didn't mean t-to wreck his home, I-I swear... if I knew it would d-do that, I-I'd have taken it with me a-and just gotten rid of it s-some other way, h-honest!"
Cassidy shifted to shake her left leg, without a skirt on tonight she could clearly see the black tendril of a living Shadow- one that felt like it came from the fiend, "Tonio, his home wasn't whole destroyed- here get off you!" she paused to shake her leg again, "Could you take your shadow back?" The white magic caster sounded annoyed but not at Tonio, yet there was something that she knew.
The fiend bit his lip, though his gaze soon fixed on the offensive shadow and scowled. Reaching over, his gaze suddenly looking disturbingly violent, he seemed to dig his hand into it, fingers gripping the shadow tightly and jerking it back away from Cassidy's leg, a harmless action that barely could be felt by Cassidy, though the shadow itself seemed to be writhing in his hand. He promptly shoved it back into his own shadow before his expression and frame seemed to return to how it had been before.
"S-sorry, sometimes they... misbehave when I'm upset.." He shakily looked up at her again, all malice gone from his eyes as he watched her. "Wh-what had you been saying?"
The paper witch blinked a few times, taken a back but recovered, "Its, okay." Cassidy took a deep breath herself, "I talked to Hadir about this before, when he was here." She took her deck of cards from him, finding without looking almost the right card and turning it up to show the fiend. "It's easier to summon him, a little harder than my puppies but I can manage."
Tonio cringed back when he saw the card, as though expecting it to slap him. "Y-you... y-you're wh-what?! H-here?! W-with... m-me here? N-no way, th-that's a bad idea Dolly, h-he'll get mad and he'll start stabbing things, a-and it's just bad!"
Cassidy took the large hat off and used it to smack the monster before he scooted too far away, "'Here' as in this realm in-general. Not 'Here' as in this instant. Breath. Tonio. I'm not stupid to summon Hadir right now!"
The fiend snapped out of it when he got smacked with his own hat. "R-right... sorry... just... sorry, I... well... um... a-anyway... c-can I have my hat please?"
"No. Its mine right now," It was put back on, "But I'm calling help." She flicked out another card, Shadows and White Magic shivered but Monster was being summoned before Tonio could protest.
The black shadow rose out of the ground as the form took shape, and then gave a light howling. The dire wolf sized Monster shook out its grey-white fur, looking around, freezing as it spotted Tonio. As it stared baring fangs it caught his scent and paused, then relaxed as a large doggy-grin formed before the Silver Fang pounced, flopping boddily over the fiend with a wagging tail.
Tonio opened his mouth to protest the moment she finished speaking, but before he had a chance, she'd already made the summon. "For the love of-" He blinked, cutting himself off as he stared at the creature. Cringing when it growled, he had a moment of confusion as it relaxed. A comical squawk escaped him as he got pounced, soon finding himself flat on the floor, staring up at the rather happy wolf, "...hi?"
The silver fang woofed softly, its chest vibrating before it started licking at the fiend. Knowing him from the game of chase, and from being in the same deck.
"Puppy!" Cassidy announced from the other side of the wall of fur, "Puppies make everything better." she added, not at all bothered that this 'puppy' was as big as a horse almost, and had canine fangs as big as a human hand.
Tonio coughed, sputtering humorously as he tried - and failed - to turn his face away from the beast, "Y-yes yes, hello there!" He spluttered out, unable to do much other than laugh thanks to the situation, "H-having fun?" He added to Cassidy. "D-Dolly you planned this didn't you?"
The human clicked as she came around, opening her arms to let the giant wolf put its face against her next, hugging its large head and muzzle while the tail started to beat faster at getting personal attention from its mistress. "No, but he's a big puppy to help aren't you?"
The Silver fang huffed in agreement, eyes closed in bliss.
Tonio sat up, wiping wolf spit off his face and making a rather comical expression as he remarked. "Well at least you never need a face cloth again. With that wolf around, at least..."
"He's not as bad as a she-wolf I have." Cassidy said, looking at the fiend who still hand the large wolf's forelegs over his lap, "But my puppy got you to stop freaking out and stuttering."
"At least there's that..." Tonio remarked awkwardly, brushing himself off and sighing a little. "Even still though, you just about gave me a heart attack when you summoned him, Dolly."
The Silver Fang huffed at Tonio next, seemingly proud that he did this.
"Well, it shocked you out of it." Cassidy defended. "Like I said, I'm not stupid to summon Hadir- he'd also make the fire witch come investigate. They're used to me calling one of my puppies now but not other monsters."
Tonio thought that over before blinking. "I... I'm not gonna get you in trouble for being here, am I? You technically didn't summon me, but..."
"No, you won't," Cassidy shook her head, "The Guard witch on duty, if she checked in and thought you a danger she would have long since been here with fireballs. But Pappy here, he's been with me in night shifts before, so he's meet the different guards of the archives. As much as my puppies need to know who's scent is normal, as the guards need to know the giant wolf thing is peaceful to me."
Tonio sighed in relief at that. "Thank goodness... the last thing I need is for another of my suits to end up on fire. The last five were expensive enough to replace... ehm... also long stories."
"...Pappy?" Cassidy asked, after a long moment of staring at the red skinned Monster, turning to her wolf and holding his head between her hands, the large silver eyes blinked back at her. "I know you're not in a pack right now, would you please make sure Tonio is safe from now on?" she addressed the wolf.
The silver Fang, 'Pappy,' barked softly and rumbling out a long promising growl.
Tonio blinked at this, staring for a moment before shaking his head. "No, no no not a need to worry about Dolly, honest. That was back before I started cleaning up my act... okay one was a few weeks ago, but that's beside the point. Besides, I don't want to get your wolf into trouble."
The Silver Fang flattened an ear, lifting his large head up out of the human's hold to level a look at the fiend, then shifted around so his forelegs and paws wrapped around the phantom.
Needless to say, the phantom was not predicting this, and made a hilarious 'erk' noise when it happened. "I'm not winning this argument am I..."
"Noope."
"Woof."
"Damn." Tonio sighed as he thought it over. "Well... could be worse I guess... at least I know you two care about what kind of situations I get stuck in."
"I care very much, you're my friend Tonio." Cassidy said, pulling a small towel out of her bag on the table- she had started carrying one now after getting the hang of summoning her wolves. The mortal caster moved around the large lupin head to dry off Tonio's face for him, her dark eyes soft, "And you're becoming apart of the family now."
-Pack.- the Silver Fang said through the shadows, though only the fiend heard it.
Tonio's whole frame went rigid as she said that, his eyes widening in alarm and face paling at her words. "...N-no. Y-you don't want that. Trust me, y-you don't want that..." It was unclear who he was talking to, if not outright talking to both of them.
-Pack.- the wolf said again firmly, eyeing Tonio again, -You. Pack. She pack head.-
Tonio adamantly shook his head to the wolf. "I-I said no. It's... it's not good. I'm too dangerous. Y-you don't want that."
"Tonio." Cassidy said, the lightness fading as she frowned, reaching out to try and turn the fiend's head, looking him in those black eyes. "We're connected now, surely you know this? No matter how new I am to shadow magic- or even if I were to never summon again, or touch a living Shadow, or the cards ever again, links have been formed. I'm as much connected to you as Hadir, Jaffa, Crimson, Aurum or any of my puppies. You're monsters linked to magic-user, I know I can't break those threads unless I die."
Tonio cringed again. "Th-that's what I'm most afraid of..." He said weakly. "...you...you dying. I don't want to be the reason." He closed his eyes, sighing faintly and seeming to murmur under his breath something along the lines of 'not again'.
Cassidy's eyes softened, shifting her hands so they were on the red cheeks, they felt warm from something other than body heat. "Phantom, look at me," Cassidy waited until she saw the obsidian gaze again, "I'm a magic user, a white witch yes but still a witch. What's more I'm, and I know this without exaggerating, a very low level one. But even then, there is still an inherent danger of using magic, white, shadow, or black magics all have a risk. Some grater maybe... but I chose to become a magic user, I chose to touch the first thread in the cards Simon handed me." She paused to take a take a breath, and smiled as she took off the too large hat looking down at it before looking up at him, "And I remember earlier, how you not even knowing what the Dark Hunters were, you were ready to defend. I saw that reflex. I know you're not inherently a bad person."
It took Tonio several seconds before he looked up at her again, shivering as he watched her, listening in silence. "I... I-I..." He sighed quietly, hesitating before managing somehow to pull her closer and hug her. "J-just be careful, okay? Please? I... nevermind. Just be careful, alright? For my sanity's sake?"
"I'm generally not stupid Tonio," Cassidy said, feeling the large wolf move back to lay behind the Monster in the suit. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged as tight as she could, "I know my limits in this world magicly, I can hold a barrier and shields. But I always try to be careful I know there's a lot of scary things out in this world and others."
He nodded a little before throwing caution to the wind, scooping her up again and holding her in his lap, just hugging her and taking in the feel of her being close. A long, slow breath was drawn and released, his frame slowly relaxing as he said softly. "I... I swear, no matter what happens, be it this life or the next, I will do everything in and beyond my power to protect you... I... I'll die before you can be touched. That... that's just it."
"I don't want you to die Tonio." Cassidy said from under his chin and against the monster's chest, cuddling close as her voice wavered a little. "Please don't."
"Don't give me a reason to, and I won't ever leave." Tonio said quietly, blinking as he realized that he was once again toying with her hair. "...heh... soft... Really soft... I like your hair..."
"Plpl," the woman razzed, looking up and then down, she pulled some of her hair around, working out a charm from being tangled in the dark strains. Then rose up in the phantom's lap to attach it to Tonio's hair, placing his hat loosely over top, "...I don't want to."
Tonio blinked at this action, but smiled at her all the same, his dark eyes soft and holding that genuine, honest care, much like they did before for a brief time. "Good. You not wanting to die is an important part of life. Ten out of ten recommend not wanting to die."
"I'll take those recommendations then." the woman smiled back, and sighed, looking back at her deck sitting on the floor she chuckled.
The fiend smiled at her before blinking in curiosity as she looked back at the desk. "Huh? What's up, Dolly?"
"I was trying to tell you before, that Hadir's tree was his temporary home while he built and worked with another tree to live inside it." Cassidy said, turning up the elven card to look at it, "He said after he caught a trespassing monster, he chased it off but came back to find a group trying to use a dark scepter. He was more annoyed he had to go to someone called 'The Dark One' to get rid it, and finding that that group came back with axes. I think he likes scaring males Tonio, you may have been giving him more entertainment then him feeling malice to you."
Tonio blinked at this, listening to what she said before staring at her in surprise. "W-wait... he... that was all... he just... I... you mean he's not really out to gut me?"
"He acted like my oven offended him," Cassidy paused and added, "I would hazard there's a likely chance he's not."
Tonio blinked, staring in surprise. "Wait he... your... your oven? What in the world would make him act like that about THAT? Ovens are useful!"
"You've never met my grandma's kitchen." Cassidy sighed, "It sets some people on fire..."
The fiend stared for a moment. "... that sounds like something that came out of my realm... Your grandmother needs a new oven."
"It IS new." Cassidy huffed, "Magic, tonio, maaaagic..." she waved her hands.
Tonio shook his head at this news. "Remind me never to use your grandmother's kitchen, even if I'm starving, okay Dolly?"
"Don't worry, mine's safe, I don't use magic when cooking," mostly that was, Cassidy smiled up at him before shiting to look back at hearing movement, the Silver Fang was rolling over on the ground, streaching out his legs and yawning.
"Eh?" The Phantom looked behind him, laughing quietly at the wolf's adjustment. "Think he's comfortable yet?" He paused and continued, "As for the kitchen, that's a good thing. Cooking with magic tends to be scary."
"How long can you stay here?" Cassidy asked, watching the pale wolf roll half onto his side, head tilting to regard the two upside down.
"That... is a good question actually." Tonio remarked, blinking and looking down at himself as if to see how many shadows were covering him. "Only done this twice before now, so got no idea how long..."
"Don't push yourself," Cassidy worried, as she couldn't see many shadows, but she was tired now, "...you said you had a house?" The mortal witch asked after a minute, looking up, "What's it like?"
"It's... kind of small to be honest. Enough room for me and one other person if need be, but not that big. Actually it's more like an apartment if anything."
"Sounds like my place," Cassidy said, shifting to touch the monster's hair in return, where the small charm was before getting up and moving to stand beside Tonio, moving his hat to start doing something to his hair.
"I've never actually seen your place." The fiend confessed. "But if it's anything like mine, your place is kinda tiny." He blinked as he felt her playing with his hair. "What are you doing?"
"Making this better so the charm stays," the woman said, her fingers moving deftly to make the thin but just wide enough braid, and tightening it carefully that the weave would hold the charm. It was just out of the phantom's bangs and before the pointed ear, to stay out of the way.
"Ah. Well do as you see best then, Dolly." He smiled happily at her before blinking and glancing down at himself again, pouting mildly when he saw the shadows were starting to creep up his legs, the tell-tale sign his time was running short. "Aw crap..."
"Shadow realm?" Cassidy guessed, pausing as she pulled a small rubber band out of her pocket. She looked over at the Silver Fang as he huffed, "ohh... I'm loosing my grip on him too." She used the tiny band to tie off the braid.
"Yes, and oh how I love it..." Tonio grumbled sarcastically. "Oh well though, at least I can visit you now, right? That's always a fun thing, as long as my timing is good." The shadows were now reaching up around his thighs, and his vague attempt to swat them away did nothing to dissuade them.
"Is there a way you can give a warning?" Cassidy asked, thinking of her grandmother, and the guard witches.
"I can probably figure out a way to send a pulse through the connection or something." He replied, thinking it over. "I'll come up with something."
On an impulse, before the phantom left, as now Cassidy caught glimpses of the shadows on him, she reached out. Wrapping her arms around Tonio's neck again from the side and, this time, it was her who kissed the red colored cheek, just under the rise of his cheekbone.
If ever his hair were to change shades, now it went as pink as pink could get. Sputtering cutely, he stared for a moment before hugging her back, holding her close for a moment before, as no man leaves a gift unrewarded, returning the favor and kissing her cheek as well. "You're too nice to me, Cass." He said quietly to her. "And I love every moment of it. See you again soon, okay?"
"Be safe you fiend." the woman said, hugging close before the solid muscled form started to fade and Cassidy shifted back so not to fall. "Let me talk to Hadir first too." she added just in case.
"By all means, if it keeps the peace, deal with him." Tonio remarked, reluctantly letting go of her, just in case. "The last thing I need is for Hadir to try and stab me for some reason..." He looked at her and smiled, even as the shadows crept up over his chest, licking at the base of his neck. "I'll be as safe as I can, Dolly, you can be certain of that. As long as you don't get into trouble, I'll be a good fiend and behave."
"Woof," the Silver Fang put in as it rolled over, and leaned closer to bite a shadow on Tonio, able to go back with him now.
The fiend blinked and glanced back at him as he did this, lazily holding his hand out and summoning his cane to himself as he remarked to the wolf. "Tagging along for the ride, eh? Well by all means go ahead; not like we have to pay for this."
He then looked back at Cassidy, thinking a moment before, mere moments prior to the shadows consuming him, flashing her one last, genuine and honest smile, his eyes holding a glee that hadn't yet been there before. Was that hope?
Whatever it was, Tonio had dipped his head shortly after in a nod, tilting his hat down as the shadows enveloped him completely. Seconds later, he and the wolf had vanished, leaving Cassidy in the library, as though nothing had even happened. The caster, with a feeling of déjà vu, dropped down to sit on the floor and pulled up her knees to hug them.
She looked around at hearing footsteps a few minutes later, seeing the guard witch of the night for the archives as the taller woman knocked her knuckles on a table. "Sorry if we disturbed your rounds Morgan."
"Its okay Cassy." The fire witch said as she moved over and sat with Cassidy, "Didn't think I should have gotten involved after seeing you were safe with him." there was a pause before, "So... that was one of the monsters linked to you now?"
"Yeah," Cassidy nodded almost shyly as she thought of the eight foot tall phantom.
"...so...you still want to move in with me and make a coven?"
