Finding You in My Field of Paper Flowers

Prelude

Rating: PG (this chapter) to R (later chapters)

Genre: Angst/Darkfic

Warnings: Spoilers for DD4+ Shounen-ai hints (It's Demon Diary, like there won't be), graphic gore - among other things - in later chapters.

Summary: Who is Eclipse? Raenef's awakened self poses questions that his beloved mentor refuses to give answers to. When all other options are exhausted and Krayon extends a helping hand, will it prove to aid Raenef in his quest for knowledge, or ruin his relationship with Eclipse permanently?

Notes: And it's time for another round of 'I've never written in this section before, please have patience with my characterisation!' -_-; I should stop doing that. Anyway, I think it's worth pointing out that the Raenef in this story is the one that wakes up after Raenef IV's meddling - that is, the united entity that fuses the doofy and nasty sides into someone who isn't a total pushover or idiot. Why? Because this is the only way Raenef could be motivated to snoop, really. Convenient that I didn't have to come up with an excuse, ne?

Italics denotes either thoughts or emphasis - I'll trust in your inherent intelligence to tell the difference. ^.^ Okay, I'll shut up now and get on with it.

It was the perfect cliche of a mid-autumn afternoon at the unnamed castle that had, for centuries on end, stood as the residence for those of the Raenef dynasty. The vast halls and corridors, lined with portraits, statues and tapestries, stood deserted. A faint breeze ruffled the pages of a book left abandoned in the monstrously proportioned library before it too seemed to turn tail and flee back outside to dance in the crisp, bright air. Vibrant red and gold leaves filtered the streaming sunlight and left a dappled pattern under the courtyard trees, the laughter (and occasional yelp) of two humans sparring with wooden swords mingled with faint birdsong, and Eclipse was sure he felt an allergic sneeze coming on in reaction to the sickly-sweet serenity of it all.

With a snarling, dismissive grunt Eclipse returned his attention to his book, but not before casting a death glare over the cover at the noisy knight and cleric for good measure.

As if on cue, the irate demon's lively young, and, some would maintain, rather dim-witted master appeared at his elbow, a concerned look stamped on his sun-warmed face.

"You aren't enjoying yourself, are you, Eclipse?"

Ah. The inevitable question with a multitude of carefully filed and pedantically maintained appropriate responses. My life is well and truly on the way to becoming one big cliched interruption. He consciously relaxed his pale face out of its fierce scowl and adopted the schooled, neutral expression that had served him best in his time under this particular lord.

"I assure you that I am fine, Master. Please do not concern yourself."

Eclipse watched out of the corner of his eye as the other dropped from a squat to rest more comfortably on the grass beside him, listened as he drew in deeply of the shade-cooled air and waited for the next question.

"Am I bothering you, sitting here?"

Just Say It Unless You Want To Be Interrogated Response Number 38 should do the trick.

"Of course not, Master. And how many times must I tell you that apologetic behaviour is unbecomi--"

"How dare you mock me!"

"Getting better," Eclipse muttered, allowing himself to snort in amusement and a tiny half-proud smile to play at the edges of his lips. His companion's face cracked into a huge grin that seemed to light up the shadows they sat in.

"Good, I'll keep you company then."

"As you wish."

The boy scooted down the grass a little, stretched dramatically and rested his head just above Eclipse's knee. Eclipse passed no comment, but let out what could have been interpreted as a sigh of contentment. They stayed there quietly for what could have been minutes, hours or days until a small, slender-fingered hand reached up to grasp the end of dark hair pooled on the ground. Aware of the tension that had made its way back into his makeshift pillow, the boy asked quietly, "Is...is this okay? If I don't pull it? You have such nice hair."

Eclipse's eyes flicked furtively up to see if the knight and cleric were paying attention to them before nodding his assent. A soft, happy sound emanated from the direction of his lap, and he felt the shifting that indicated his hair was being stroked and puzzled over. But it was when the stroking stopped that he cast his book aside and paid full visual attention to the lapful of blonde. The pale eyebrows were drawn together in concentration, the hand grasping his hair was still, but the big difference between the old and the new became apparent with frightening clarity. Gears were turning instead of spinning like a bogged cartwheel in that head. Raenef the Fifth, ill-esteemed ascendant to the demon throne of the southern mountains, was thinking. Eclipse waited patiently for him to speak.

"Hey, Eclipse...?" (Eclipse's eye twitched at the colloquialism) "I don't mean to pry, but I've been wondering...you know all about me, but I know almost nothing about you." Raenef began twisting the handful of hair again; suddenly nervous about what he'd blurted. Visibly, he gathered himself and ploughed on. "Everyone I meet in this world knows who you are. You're my...my... well, you know. Please tell me."

This was not the type of question Eclipse had a quick, satisfying answer for. He brushed his dark bangs out of his face, drew a deep breath, and asked quietly, "Exactly what do you wish to know, Lord Raenef?"

Raenef shuffled onto his side, folding an arm over Eclipse's legs for balance as he rested his head on the man's knee, staring intently into his face through long, sandy eyelashes.

"Tell me who you are. Where you've been and what you did there. Tell me something so that the next time someone comes to take you away from me because I'm not good enough, they can't surprise me with things that every other demon is aware of."

Eclipse spared his master a tiny, crooked and slightly rueful smile as he laid a long-fingered hand on the boy's shoulder. "I am Eclipse, demon of the Third Order, tutor and mentor of Demon Lord Raenef the Fifth, whom I searched for and found in the South. I am your servant, and whatever is in the past remains so while I am in your service."

Reaching for his book, Eclipse moved to stand up and Raenef relinquished the use of the demon's legs back to him.

"That's not an answer, Eclipse."

"It is an appropriate and adequate one, my lord. Please excuse me."

Raenef's face scrunched up in annoyance at being thwarted. "Hey!"

The reply drifted back on what might have been the same zephyr of air that had played in the library.

"Demon lords do not say 'hey', Master."

Huffing, said lord crossed his arms and frowned again - a behaviour so very unlike him that it tripped off Erutis's Raenef Radar and had her storming across the courtyard towards the trees, even as Chris swung at what would have been her shoulder, had she still been standing where she should have been.

"You're awfully scowly today," she observed, plonking herself down gracelessly next to the boy. "If you keep it up you'll get wrinkles, and considering your potential lifespan...what's wrong, cutie-pie? You know you can tell me anything."

"He won't talk to me, Erutis." A tiny, resigned voice. "Why won't he talk about himself? I mean, I thought that after all the mess we went through we were closer than this. Is it because I'm not as thick as I used to be? Because he doesn't trust me? Doesn't like me?"

Erutis flopped back to lie on the grass, chewing on a blade of it as she deliberated. "Well, Rae, Eclipse is a grump. He's old and he's got a temper to match. He's probably done a stack of things he doesn't want you to know about..." a wicked glint flashed across her eyes, "or are you more concerned about who he's done?"

"Erutis! It's not like that!" A bright blush worked its way across Raenef's nose.

"Fine, fine, whatever you say. Anyhow, like I said, he's old. I mean really old. He was even Krayon's tutor for a while there, I think."

Raenef sniffed and fought for control of his blush. "So he's old. What's your point?"

"My point is that if you want to find stuff out about him, there are probably plenty of books that could tell you what he doesn't want to. Failing that, you could always ask around...I'm sure that Seer woman would only be too happy to help you out." The knight cracked a smile and winked at her 'liege' before bringing her practice sword up to block the blow Chris was trying to deliver to her head.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Chris barked at her, brandishing his weapon in what he obviously believed to be a threatening manner but really made him look like a slightly off-balance, sweating squirrel. "You're supposed to be training me!"

Erutis rolled her eyes dramatically. "I am training you, stupid. I'm the sword master, so I get to take a break. You, on the other hand, could do with another two hundred practice swings."

Chris's jaw dropped. "Two...hundred...No fair! And I'm not stupid, I'm Chris, Successor to the--"

"Move it or I'm never wasting my time on you again!"

"Okaaaay..." he grumbled, moving back into the open where he could swing without clunking either of his companions in the head.

The knight returned her attention to Raenef, suddenly serious. Her expression coaxed a similar one in the demon lord, and she placed a hand on his sincerely. "Rae, before you go into something like this, are you aware that maybe Eclipse is omitting things for your own good or his?"

"Yes, I know. But I have to find out something." His smile warmed her heart. "Thankyou, Erutis. I'm glad you're here with me."

"No problem, kid."

The ancient door groaned on its hinges as Raenef peeked gingerly around the space it created, searching the library for potential occupants. Newfound abilities and awareness notwithstanding, he didn't have an excuse prepared if he encountered his tutor and the demon's ongoing ability to read minds did not bode well for Raenef's plan of action. Thankfully, the chamber stood empty.

His boots clacked lightly on the marble floor as the boy passed quickly over to the first row of tomes, running a finger across the neatly ordered spines. Ruefully, he wished he'd paid closer attention to Eclipse's explanation of the ordering system the previous Raenef had used. Oh well. There can't be that many books in here, and if I've found one I've found all of them. Glancing up at the seemingly endless shelves, the ladders and the far away domed ceiling, Raenef moaned unhappily and cupped his face with his hands. This is going to take me at least a century...

Three hours later, and Raenef was no more well informed than he had been when he slipped through the door. The books, although overflowing with gruesome detail about the exploits of demon lords of old, spells that six months ago he wouldn't have had a hope of mastering and genealogies for names he was barely aware of, were all but useless. Raenef the Fourth might have been a great collector of knowledge, but obviously didn't care for written records of the present or those he knew on a personal basis. For all the books told the young lord, his trusted and noble mentor didn't exist.

Raenef thumped his head on the desk, frustrated with his futile efforts.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Don't tell me you're actually studying."

Eclipse covered his mouth with one elegant hand, hiding his amusement as his lord sat bolt upright, a sheet of parchment stuck to his forehead. As the paper loosened itself and fluttered back to the desk, Raenef offered his tutor a sheepish smile that the demon acknowledged with a raised eyebrow.

"Kind of. I was just going over some of the things you tried to teach me back when my attention span rivalled a cockroach," Raenef grinned a little wider and bowed his head. "I want you to be proud of me."

Eclipse crossed the significant distance between the door and the desk in what seemed like three or four paces and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Master Raenef..."

"Yes?" Raenef squeaked.

"You'll figure it out in your own way, in your own time." Raenef felt the demon's exhaled breath stroke against the side of his throat, and suppressed a giddy shiver. "Although your efforts are very much appreciated, it would be foolish to worry yourself over concepts that now come naturally to you. But if you're happy sitting by yourself researching, by all means don't let me interrupt you further, my lord."

Withdrawing his hand and stepping back, Eclipse vanished with no more than a faint 'go'.

"Uwaaaaa, he nearly caught me!" The young lord whimpered as he rocked back and forth in his chair.

The door opened and closed with a squeaky groan borne of haste, as if it protested to being moved so quickly. And considering the Fourth Raenef's habit of giving life to inanimate things, it wasn't that much of an unreasonable assumption.

"Who nearly caught you doing what?" Chris asked, leaning over the other boy's shoulder in an attempt to see what he was reading.

Quick thinking had served him once, and Raenef crossed his fingers inconspicuously and hoped it would hold out again. "Eclipse. He...almost caught me reading over stuff I should already know," Raenef mumbled as he hung his head as if in shame. "I don't want him to think I'm denser that he already believes, so I didn't want him to find out."

"Ah." The cleric shifted just enough to sit on the edge of the table, swinging his feet aimlessly. "You know I know you're lying, right?"

Raenef looked up in alarm. "Eh? What makes you think I'm lying to you?"

"First off, your reaction to being accused of lying is a dead giveaway." Chris folded his arms smugly. "Secondly, I'm a genius, but that's a given we're all aware of. Thirdly, I overheard you talking to Erutis back in the courtyard so I know what you're really looking for."

"Oh." The blonde's shoulders slumped in defeat. "So is there anyone here who doesn't know what I'm doing?"

"Couple of crusaders, probably, but they'll find out eventually," the cleric-in-training remarked, trading his smug posture for twirling the jewelled staff at his hip. "So, do you think Eclipse bought your lousy excuse?"

"I'm not sure. I hope so, but he fobbed off my questions earlier today and it's too much of a coincidence to find me in the library just afterwards for him not to put two and two together." Fiddling, Raenef began folding the loose piece of paper over on itself.

"You mean he didn't say anything about the books you've got spread out here?"

"No. But he's smart. He probably knew that these books would be useless and figured I'd give up once I found that out," the demon admitted, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"All of these books are useless?" Chris held one up, flicked through the pages and made a warding-off gesture at the unfamiliar demonic script.

"Yes. Apparently my predecessor was a collector of old things rather than new." He began stacking the unhelpful tomes into neat piles, preparing to return them to their respective shelves.

"Tough break." Chris stroked at his chin, a glint of humour entering his eyes. "Shame you can't use the library at the Great Temple, isn't it? But you know, Raenef, I'm still not used to you being so articulate. It's creepy."

Raenef's indignant yelp echoed down the corridor as they left the library to itself once again.

________________________________________________________________________________

His lord's obvious distraction and frustration over the course of dinner was, for once, a great relief for Eclipse. It meant the boy had failed in his attempt to dredge up the history that the demon had once been - and still was - considerably proud of, but was now reluctant to speak of in the boy's presence. Eclipse's every resistance had been futile. There was simply no way one could spend time in the child-lord's gregarious and affable presence and not wish to be accepted into it, and loath as he was to admit any attachment to anything beyond duty, he had been sucked in just as hard and fast as the boy's two human companions. The mere thought of using his reputation as anything other than a vague reference to scare the irritating cling-ons behind Raenef's back became anathema the first night he'd spent sleeping on the edge of Raenef's bed, guarding the most undemonlike ward he'd ever been charged with. All the boy had had to do was mutter Eclipse's name in his sleep, and Eclipse lived to see him happy and prosperous.

Eclipse highly doubted that tales of his exploits in the Hangma War and the centuries before that where he'd been noted even in the human world for his cruelty would make the young lord happy in the slightest. He could picture the look of revulsion on the doll-like face, the tears that welled in the huge eyes widened to almost comical proportion by horror at the knowledge that his beloved tutor and guardian was, in fact, the brutal killer that had earned him his post. The vision, once conjured, refused to fade away quickly and always left the dark-haired demon in a cold sweat.

It was with something disturbingly close to gratitude that Eclipse was snapped out of his reverie by Erutis, who suggested in a no-nonsense tone that they might as well retire for the night, considering that Raenef, the social glue of the little group, appeared to be off with the fairies.

He gave her his best death glare as he escorted his lord from the table when she mouthed 'you owe me big!' at him. The knight flinched, and surreptitiously edged behind Chris. You know, just in case something happened to spontaneously combust in the demon's field of vision.

Raenef lay awake long after Eclipse bid him goodnight and vanished away to his own quarters. The moonlight streamed in through the window and onto his face as if in mockery of the sunbeams that had tinted his cheeks pink earlier that day...before Eclipse had sidestepped him.

The Seer. Meruhesae. Erutis had mentioned that she might be helpful if it had to do with her grumpy object of affection, and even more so if what she had to say could sway the young lord's attention away from him. She was a demon, after all, and by nature self-interested. Does that mean I'm digging around in things Eclipse doesn't want me to know just for my own sake? Raenef scratched his head, puzzled as to whether he was in fact as bad as the demon woman. If he's hiding something it has to be because it might change my opinion of him, and that's not going to happen. Ever, Raenef concluded fiercely.

Sleep. If he managed to reach out strongly enough in his dreams, Meruhesae might hear him and then he wouldn't have to make an excuse to leave the castle. I think I'm getting smarter! Raenef made a conscious effort to relax himself, kept his thoughts on the longhaired demon woman cocooned in her palace of draped silk, and fell asleep.

***
Opening his eyes, Raenef scanned his unfamiliar surroundings. He was most certainly not in his bed. It has to be the dream world, he deduced, and set off across the open expanse of white in search of Meruhesae.

"Yes, it is. And you're not going to find her unless you tell me what you're up to, kid."

Raenef recognised the voice almost instantly, and sure enough, seated in midair as if on an invisible throne, was Krayon, the Demon Lord of Egae.

"I...I just need to ask her a few questions," the younger of the two stalled.

Krayon floated down towards the unseen ground, landing softly as his cape billowed around him. Sylphs again? In a dream?

The demon scowled at him. "No, as a matter of fact. This is my realm and everything within obeys me. Even you should know that."

Raenef was strongly reminded of the times Eclipse had casually read his surface thoughts, but unlike those instances there was nothing comfortable or companionable about Krayon's particular brand of intrusion. "Will you stop that, please?!"

"No," the cloaked man replied promptly. "So it's your dear tutor you're fretting over, is it? Well, kid, as I've always said, once you've had enough I'm more than happy to take him off your hands. 'Bout time you realise you're not good enough for him." Krayon eyed Raenef's trembling shoulders and downcast face, sneering prettily. "What, you think the Seer is going to pat your hand and tell you it's all right?"

"That's not it at all!" Raenef choked out.

"I know. I'm just riling you, kid," the Lord of Egae held back a snigger, making it plenty obvious he was doing just that. "So, are you going to tell me what had you screaming so loudly across my domain I could've heard it in the forests of the waking north, or am I going to pry it cleanly out of your head while you writhe in agony?"

Raenef stared up at him, aghast. "You wouldn't --"

"I would, you know it, and there's nobody here but you and me. Spit it out, I'm getting bored."

"Fine, though I doubt you'll be any help," Raenef mumbled, moving to sit on whatever the nothing was that he was standing on. By the time he managed to kneel, the two demons were in a garden brimming with the rich scent of flowers and springtime, sylphs fluttering around like butterflies. Krayon had resumed his seated position, this time in a visible chair. He twisted a finger through the waves of his hair, peering distastefully at Raenef, who remained seated on the grass. Impatiently, he gestured to the chair on the other side of the table his elbow rested on.

"If you will, Lord Raenef. I believe your dear Eclipse would inform you not only that it is unbefitting for a Demon Lord to humble himself in front of another Lord, but also that it's a bitch getting grass stains out of white."

Raenef blushed angrily and took the seat, sitting on the edge as he folded his arms defensively. Krayon's eyebrow remained cocked as he waited for the boy to explain himself.

"I wanted to ask Meruhesae about Eclipse."

"What, planning a family?"

"Kindly stop trying to bait me. You wanted to know, and now I'm telling you against my will but I can't if you keep interrupting me."

"Fine, fine..." Krayon's posture became distinctly sulky, and he resumed playing with a strand of golden hair.

"I wanted to ask Meruhesae about who Eclipse was before he became my tutor. You, the Fourth Raenef, everybody I come across...you all know things about him that I don't, and he won't tell me a thing," the boy finished quietly, studying his hands which had migrated to his lap.

Krayon was unusually contemplative for a long moment. "Well, mate, your luck might just be in. Do you know what dreams are?"

Raenef looked puzzled. "They're things you have when you're asleep."

"Yes," Krayon assented, "and no. A dream is a memory. It might be of things that have already happened, things which are happening, or things that haven't happened yet. I control dreams. That means I have access to a copy of everything that's ever happened and everything that will. Do you get my drift?"

"I think so...you mean, if I could control dreams I'd never need to read a book again?" Raenef ventured.

"That's not what I meant at all, though hypothetically you have a point. What I was trying to put across is that in exchange for, let's say...a month's worth of evening visits to your fine home in the company of your dear friends, I could construct a set of dreams for you that would tell you all you'd ever need to know about Eclipse. One each night for a week. Lucky seven. Do we have an accord?" The Lord of Dreams held out one perfectly manicured hand, which Raenef hesitantly shook, noting the difference in size between the mature demon's fingers and his own and wondering if he was in over his head.

Eclipse is going to kill me, he thought in despair. He went off the air when I brought Erutis and Chris home, what's he going to do when Krayon shows up?

"He'll deal with it, whether he likes it or not," Krayon smirked as he conjured something Raenef had never seen before between his hands. "Sweet dreams, Raenef."

A.N: Don't you just love Krayon? He's such a devious little bitch, and I find it a shame that a lot of people write him off as nothing more than comic relief when he has so much evil potential. Stay tuned for the first dream next chapter! *points to review button* Humour me? It's already written for once and I'll be awfully sad if nobody cares... *pathetic sniffle*