Alright, here's the next chapter for you all. Things get more tense here as Seilah pays the Strauss siblings a visit. Enjoy, alligators!
It was a few days before Seilah could sit up, let alone walk properly. The time she had been curled on the ground allowed her to think more into what was going on with her mate. Her concealed form and her Etherious were of two different minds, battling one another as they tried to come up with plausible excuses and coping mechanisms for this new development. After all, there was no way Kyouka would do such a special technique on such a low creature without good reason, right?
When she finally was able to walk again, Seilah headed in a direction opposite the kitchen, which was where she should have gone. Instead, she made her way to the dungeons. One of the coping mechanisms her concealed state of mind had thrown around was attempting to understand why Kyouka found pleasure in torturing the humans. By that logic, all she had to do was go down and attempt to see the appeal.
Coming to the dungeons, Seilah strode down the halls of cells, purple eyes narrowed just slightly more than usual. The prisoners all whimpered and withdrew in terror or growled as she passed. She paid no mind to this, however. She had no time to ponder the emotions aroused in humans due to the twists and turns of their own tales.
Stopping in front of one particular cell, the brunette gazed inside, finding the three siblings huddled together and snoozing softly. Of course, at her presence, the oldest immediately awoke, turning to glare at her suspiciously. Seilah watched her for a moment before stepping through the bars of the cell and moving closer. Mira stood, stirring her brother and sister, who moved to stand beside her, though not as alert. Seilah paid no mind to them and silently ordered them to the other side of the cell as she drew near the object of her focus.
Coming to a stop in front of Mira, Seilah stared at her hard, purple eyes not wavering in the slightest as she tried to see it. Mira stared back in worried confusion, glancing to where her brother and sister were now watching with mild curiosity. Seilah simply stared at the eldest whitette, trying to see what could possibly be so appealing about torturing a creature so weak compared to themselves. They are too soft, too predictable, too… human!
Perhaps the problem was that she wasn't actually torturing her, simply watching her. Would torturing this human make her think differently? Quick as lightning, Seilah's hand shot out and she grasped Mira around the neck, lifting her against the wall. Elfman and Lisanna screamed out for mercy behind her, but Seilah paid them no mind, focusing her eyes on Mira. The blue eyes glared hatred down at her as the mage fought for air, her fingers tugging fruitlessly against Seilah's hand.
But nothing happened.
There was no thrill, no excitement, no jubilation at having this creature at her mercy and on the verge of death. There was no pleasure to be found in this treatment. The story was boring, bland and distasteful. Seilah's hand loosened, keeping Mira pressed to the wall as the purple eyes once again stared up at the now-gasping woman. Elfman and Lisanna were watching fearfully, wondering what she would do next, but Seilah simply stared as Mira caught her breath and stared back. Finally, Seilah set her on her feet and stepped back, still staring.
Mira huffed and moved to her siblings, Seilah releasing the order over them so they could run and embrace their family. Folding her legs, the demon settled on the floor and stared at the trio hard. Silence filled the cell once more as the demon simply stared at the prisoners, trying to figure it out. Elfman growled at her irritably, but Mira shushed him, finally having realized that something was bothering the brunette. Most would point out Seilah strangling her should have tipped her off, but Mira had an inkling that the demoness hadn't been trying to kill her; rather, she was trying to test something. But what?
Finally, Seilah released a soft, aggravated sigh and stood, still staring at the humans. "I don't understand," she hissed, ordering Elfman and Lisanna to pick up Mira. The two of them carried their sister to the middle of the cell and Seilah paced around them, not actually looking at them, but glancing in their direction every few seconds. "I don't understand."
"Don't understand what?" Mira asked slowly, not wanting to provoke the volatile woman.
"You are human!" Seilah snarled, eyes narrowed in frustration. "You are weak, fragile, you break and die so easily!"
"Still managed to put up a fight against your guild," Lisanna snorted.
"Due to numbers," The brunette mumbled offhandedly. "Numbers and overconfidence on our part." Rounding on them, she began pacing in the opposite direction. "But you are still human. What pleasure could possibly be found in torturing you, spending any amount of time around you, but not using you for task-fulfillment? You… you are human!"
"This is about Kyouka and Erza, isn't it?" Mira whispered, watching the agitated way in which Seilah jerked her head noncommittally.
"Trouble in paradise," Lisanna snickered. Within seconds, Elfman had her pinned against the wall, his large, thick hands clasped around her throat.
"I know the connotations of that human phrase!" Seilah hissed, her eyes flashing red. "There is no trouble in whatever paradise I may find myself in! I am… confused…" Elfman dropped Lisanna and helped her regain her breath as Seilah stared at Mira again. "You are human… I am one of the most powerful Etherious and you are human."
Mira simply stared back, seeing the turmoil swirling in the purple gaze. She wondered just what was going on among the two females of the guild for Seilah—the calmest, most stoic member of the entire group of demons—to be so frazzled. Finally, the brunette huffed and turned on her heel, stockinged-feet padding lightly on the stones as she walked through the bars of the cell and headed away. She had received no answers and the same questions were swirling around in her mind in conjunction with the memory of what her dear Kyouka had done with the Scarlet woman.
Gritting her teeth, Seilah resisted the urge to go to the cell and rip the woman to shreds right then and there. The desire to paint the cell walls in the wizard knight's blood was strong, but Seilah couldn't do that to her love's current favorite toy. It would make Kyouka angry with her. She couldn't stand the thought of Kyouka being angry with her. Sighing unhappily, the youngest Etherious made her way to the library, her sanctuary. Perhaps there were some stories in there that could help her understand what was going on and give a plausible solution.
So? How was it? Drop me a review and tell me what you thought!