(16th June, 05:56, Waxing Gibbous Moon)

Beast and the Beast

Chapter Eight – The first Trifle of Hatred

(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)

x.X.x

Sakai felt an uncomfortable nudging feeling at her side, at first she thought it was her wound sending the feeling up her spine, but soon she realized it was someone's foot. She opened her eyes in a second and was on her feet the next.

She was staring at Baal and she felt disgusting surge in her, so badly that she had to turn away from him again. "Oh god, can't you wipe your face after you feed?" She spat out and he looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked and she didn't dare look back at him, she didn't want to see it or she would throw up again and she had barely managed to get the acidic taste out of her mouth previously.

"You have a piece of flesh stuck on your face." She said, realizing how odd it sounded that a piece of meat was stuck to someone's face, though that was what she saw and she wasn't going to look again for confirmation.

"Really?" He asked a bit shocked as he touched his face and sure enough he felt the patch of flesh on his face. "Oh, that's my own." He said so matter-of-factly that she actually looked back at him and now noticed the milky white color of the flesh, though it didn't help ease her nausea so she looked away again.

"I don't understand." She said and he said nothing as he started to walk away from her until he reached the edge of the camp.

"You don't have to, now get your things, we're leaving." He said and she gave a nod as she fought down the nausea his appearance brought to her, though she walked towards her bag and picked it up, quickly heading to get her clothes from the tree by the pool.

x.X.x

They had been walking for about an hour when Baal once again made a sudden stop, he turned to her and she knew by now he was going to ask her a question so she waited for it; she hated the way he was sometimes, he would just stare at her, almost as if he was sizing her up.

"Why do you really want to go to Hell, I don't believe you want to find your heritage there, as you have none." He said and she gave a nod, knowing he knew it was yet another lie she had told him, though the entire story only counted as one lie.

"I can't exactly live normally after this transformation so where else can I go?" She asked him and he shook his head and she was now staring at the piece of flesh on his bonelike skin, wondering what it was doing there, in the middle of his face. It was as if it had just grown there.

"There are plenty of other places where demons reside and where you could make your home, why did you choose Hell?" He continued to ask and she hated his questions, it was all personal and she wasn't one to divulge things like that to strangers.

"Why do you want to know?" She asked him, she needed to at least have one shred of privacy left when it came to him, she couldn't possibly tell him everything.

"It's my business to know and you will tell me." He said and she was taken aback by the order but knew his threats weren't idle and if he made one he would probably carry it through.

"Well, I suppose I think Hell is the most sophisticated place for demons to live." She said and Baal let out a laugh, she was confused, even his laugh sounded a bit more normal to her than usual. Perhaps she was just getting used to him in a way? Had to be that or maybe with how pathetic she seemed to him she taught him how to laugh; somehow that idea was disturbing.

"I guess a human would think so." He said as he turned around and started to walk again, but now she was curious as to why he said that.

"Why do you say that?" She pried and he continued to walk and she noticed the hump on his back where the vines were was growing smaller, she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't imagining things, but she wasn't, it was visibly smaller.

"Because it's true." He said, giving a technically correct but completely useless answer.

"You know what I mean." She said irritated as she started to scan him for any of physical changes but found none so she just stared ahead of them into the dense forest.

"Yes, I do know what you mean." He said and she waited for a further answer but it didn't seem like he was going to give one. He drove her insane! He never spoke about himself or anything he said! She really felt like she was being interrogated by him!

"Can't you just give me a straight answer for once?" She hissed out irritated and this time he did stop, he swung around and glared at her with so much anger and hatred that she had no idea where it came from.

"I don't need to give you anything, let alone an answer, it's not my fault you're in this predicament and even if it was I wouldn't care! Do you want to know why?" He spat out and before she could answer he continued. "It's because I AM a demon, you're a watered down version that won't last five minutes in Hell if you go on like this!" He finished with a hiss and she was staring at him stunned.

"Then why are you taking me there?" She asked softly as she looked away from his hateful gaze and shuffled on her feet, looking at their reptile features.

"Perhaps I'm a bastard in taking you there because I know you will get killed with your questioning nature and attitude! Don't think your apparent beauty as a demon will save you either!" He said and she was stunned at the last part. They would consider her beautiful, even if she looked like this?

"Okay… Okay, I get the point." She said as she started to walk now, but he grabbed her by her arm and yanked her back to him.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" He hissed and she stared at him blankly, was all demons like this? Were they intelligent beings inflicted with hatred and anger? Was that was she was like to other people?

"Sorry." She said suddenly, surprised at his anger, she had never seen so much anger in anyone, not even herself, she wasn't anything like these creatures, okay, maybe she was a mild version, or a 'watered down' one as he said; but she wasn't as violent or hateful.

He let her arm go and pushed her away from him as he started to walk now and she took a deep breath and followed in silence. Even if he said she would possibly die in Hell she had to take the chance, it was her only chance to become human again.

The part she was dreading most though was having to eat soon, she knew she could just eat the raw beef, but even that disgusted her, and the blood would be her water? And the sad part about all of this was that demons didn't have a choice, they had to eat it as they couldn't eat anything else.

Perhaps that was also why they were so insane; they ate humans and any other form of meat, if she had to do that for her entire life she would have gone insane as well.

She looked up at the sky, wishing it was night, because the humid heat of the forest was getting to her and at least in the night it was cool. With a start she remembered she would be turning human tomorrow when the sunset; at first she felt joy, but then it turned into despair.

How would she hide it from her companion?