Sorry for the absence! School started again, so my posts have been more erratic than ever. I once again thank my reviewers for keeping the spirit alive! Speaking of which, this chapter suits the times perfectly – it's just past halloween, after all! With that, I wish you all who celebrate the holiday (or any version thereof) an late Happy Halloween! (my favourite holiday, if we're being honest).
Moving on!
WARNING: Some violence – even demons can be bullies, after all. Also the use of the word "negroe" as applied in those times (to indicate a person of colour in a non-insulting fashion), plus some spookiness to befit the here and now today. They are, after all, celebrating Samhain, the holiday that founded Halloween! :)
Before we move on, I don't want to surprise anybody with pairings they don't approve of, so I am going to lay down right now: Knox and Undertaker are a thing. Somehow, their personalities just...fit together. I can't quite explain it, but it works for me. Grell will be with William for reasons, and Ciel...well, I don't really know if he will even be paired up. Sebastian...I'm not sure what I'm going to do with him yet, but he's bound to have sexy time with someone. Whoever happens to fit in the scene at the time unless someone requests something specific. (this MAY include SebaCiel...as long as you know it won't be fluffy or in any way sweet. SebastianXWilliam is also open as a possibility, but I won't include it unless requested.)
With that reaffirmed, let's get on with the celebration! (Because Halloween is AWESOME)
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CH XIII
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Benches made from four meter half-logs were brought out as the sky turned dark, and situated some ways from the pyre all the way around, giving many of the villagers places to settle around the vermilion fire. Others stood behind them, most of them chatting amongst themselves.
As the fire grew, every demon within sight of Ciel seemed to be carrying on a conversation, displaying a social side of themselves Ciel knew Sebastian to possess in proper company – but which he was under the impression that they did not carry out amongst themselves. 'Sebastian seems just fine in isolation...I know he can be social and chatty, but I rather assumed that was all a ruse. How little I know...' Ciel was sitting on a bench placed in front of a wooden house that cast him into the shade of the moon. He spared a glance at his butler, who stood to the side of the shade, his skin bathed in silver moonlight. A somber feeling filled his chest. 'To think, all this time you knew almost everything about me – you know when I am dreaming, even walk through my dreams at times; you know what makes me uneasy and you know very well when I am frightened, as well as what scares me. You know more about my family than I have ever told you, more about my body than I have ever shown you or even know myself; sometimes I really do wonder if you can read my mind – yet, in all this time, I've never really stopped to wonder why you are here or where you came from. I guess I didn't want to burden myself with the knowledge in case it turned out badly...but now that I've gotten a taste, a hint of you, of your true self – now I want to know more. More about you. More about where you came from, about where I will be going, in one way or another.'
Alistar had been toying with the fire, building it up. As he finished, he then raised his arms high into the air, making all movement and conversation cease as he did so. "Brethren, Sisters, nieces and nephews – the week of Samhain has begun again!" He announced. Gabriel came from the shadows behind Ciel, coming around the bench to sit beside him at a comfortable distance, watching his mate with pride in his eyes. "I welcome you all to the first eve's celebration – the bonfire, representing our beginning – or, rather, the beginning of our world as it is today." Alistar slowly lowered his arms, ducking his way through the crowd for a moment as he retrieved something from behind the crowd – a turkey sized bird, long dead, with long wings that were bright red when viewed from below, and a stunning silver when viewed from the other way around, evidenced by the tilting of the creature in his hand where he grasped it by the neck. The belly of the bird was pitch black, it's legs a blue hue – definitely not a bird he'd ever seen before. "This bird, known in this world as Kirihito, is the embodiment of our kin, for the purposes of this festivity." Ciel then watched, wide-eyed, as he drew a silver blade from seemingly nowhere and severed the wings of the bird, each with one good slice. "There is a story to be had for this sacrifice – hear it that you will understand." He said before thrusting the severed wings upwards, letting the rest of the bird fall from his hands. "Anyone else want to tell it, while we are here?" Gabriel's hand shot straight up. "Besides Gabriel." Alistar corrected, not bothering to turn to see his mate's eager enthusiasm.
"But Gabriel tells the story really well," A voice said. "Even if he has to explain his name a thousand times in the process." A ripple of laughter followed from the crowd.
"Please, Alistar, let big brother Gabriel tell the story of the Kings!"
"Yes, please!" More and more voices voted for the other demon to tell the story. Ciel shrugged, turning to the demon in question. "You might as well, for as eager as they are." He commented, gesturing towards the anticipatory crowd. Alistar eventually gave way under the pressure, beckoning his mate with a waving hand. Gabriel all but leapt at the opportunity, bounding up to where Alistar stood and taking the severed wings when he was offered them.
A hand on Ciel's shoulder make him jump, and he turned to see Sebastian, who had been rather quiet up till now, leaning over his shoulder with a scowl on his face. "I don't think it is wise you listen to this tale." Sebastian cautioned. Ciel scanned his butler's face, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for; what he found, however, was the equivalent of a brick wall, immovable and stubborn. His butler's words hadn't been good advice – they were a stern warning. Ordinarily, Ciel would have taken this warning to heart – Sebastian often had a better sense of judgement than he did sometimes, after all – but grew quite agitated instead. "And why not?" Ciel had to ask – Sebastian didn't usually order him around unless it was for a good reason. And in a way, Ciel couldn't help but see his butler's "I don't think it is wise" as an order or demand, rather than appeasement. From the corner of his eye, Ciel watched the demon's firm, rust coloured eyes harden farther.
"For the purposes of protecting whatever sanctity exists between our relationship as master and servant." Sebastian clipped. "While I do admire your effort to understand my kind, I do not feel it is a wise choice to delve any deeper – for both your sake and mine." Ciel turned an unreadable expression to face his butler's hard gaze. "Fine. But only if you can convince me that knowing any more will be detrimental to me." Sebastian's eyes became colder still. Sensing that he was ruffling the demon's feathers with his stubbornness, Ciel offered a brief explanation. "I have already gone in too deep, Sebastian. You of all people should know – I'm a curious person." Ciel threatened. "I am also not one to give pause just because someone tells me to. If learning any more about your kind will put me, or our contract, at risk, then merely saying so is not necessarily going to deter me."
"I know." Sebastian said shortly, though a small smirk was playing on the edges of his lips. "Which is why I will tell you some of the potential ramifications of continuing to play this game of curious cat and deadly dog." Ciel felt a shift in the demon's aura, and unconsciously braced himself.
"I am a demon. Nothing can or will change that, just as nothing can or will alter the fate you have chosen for yourself."
"I know that." Ciel interupted. The glare sent his way made him wish he hadn't. "Having said that, there is a reason I am little inclined to have told you any of this before. Think about it for a moment – to me, you are in a rather uncomfortable position. You are the prey – I am the predator." Sebastian said, coming around to stand in front of his master. "You are a cat too curious for your own good – I am the vicious guard dog that will tear you apart once I've caught you. Don't you think, then, that it is ill advised to grow too comfortable in the presence of the dog?" Ciel leaned back as his butler loomed over him suddenly, the shadows around them vibrating with a disturbing energy. "On the other hand," Sebastian continued. "You must also trust the dog to defend you when you stand behind it. However, beyond this, nothing more is necessary to be accomplished." Sebastian clipped. Ciel didn't bother to fight it when his butler's hand rested itself upon his chest with a gentleness that somehow frightened him. "You are treading into dangerous waters, my lord. On one hand, you are likely to grow far too familiar with me or my ilk – this is the same as a lamb becoming so accustomed to a lion that it would walk willingly among a pride of them, alone, with a foolish cockiness and a blind sense of trust. On the other, what you find as you continue to dig may very well be your own grave." At this, the demon suddenly grasped his shirt firmly in his hand, jerking the earl forward with a slight, but no less violent tug. Ciel cringed back as the demon's eyes literally bored their way into his soul, pinning him where he sat, though Sebastian touched him no longer."There is a reason why humans detest demons. Why they fear us. Why we are regarded as monsters and nothing more. So before you delve any deeper into this world, none of which you were ever meant to understand outside of your derelict relationship to me, I will ask you this, little lord – how much more are you willing to sacrifice in order to obtain the knowledge that you seek? Demons are greedy creatures after all – nothing from us will ever come for free." Sebastian's voice had dropped in volume, but also in pitch, more closely resembling the sound of his truer self – the self that had presented itself to him those years ago, back when he was more literally trapped in a cage. Now, however, he felt trapped for a different reason entirely, his demon's energy and domineering aura slowly smothering him where he sat, forcing him unwillingly into a submissive position as he all but cowered against the bench.
"Oi!" Alistar gave a shout, though it took a moment for Ciel to understand it was directed at them. Sebastian seemed to know, however, and turned a rather menacing scowl towards the paler demon. "I realize it's none of my business, but if you are going to argue with each other, please do it someplace that isn't crawling with scavengers." Alistar pointed to the building above them, prompting both of them to look up at it, Sebastian's oppressive energy falling by the wayside as he did so. Ciel's heart skipped a beat when he seen the line of crow-like birds sitting on the gutter above them, watching with not two, but three eyes each, every one of them a vivid red. If Ciel had been cowering before, he all but flattened himself against the bench now, scooting away from the feathered fiends, growing increasingly disturbed when their eyes followed him.
"Those are known as Gumi around here. Their cute name belies their wicked purpose – they are flesh-roosters, parasitic brooders that use the body cavities of anything dead or dying to rear their young. Of course, they're not picky about exactly what the vessel is, but rarely will they take the healthy – so long as nothing comes of your spats, you'll be fine." Alistar reassured the frightened earl, not that it helped much, what with his implication. He tried to look to his butler, but couldn't look Sebastian in the eye - a fact which swiftly turned his fear into fury.
"And nothing shall, so long as our contract remains in place." Ciel snapped, rising from his undignified position and regaining his composure swiftly. "Threaten me all you like, but it will not alter my course so long as I deign it so." Sebastian's head whirled, giving his master an expression both surprised and irate. "Rather, I will continue to seek the truth. The truth to a lie I've been told my whole life." Ciel gazed down at his ring, stroking it. He could feel the heat of Sebastian's glare.
"Even if it means that your wish will not be granted?" Ciel's mind froze.
"I do not make threats, my lord – I deal out warnings." Sebastian all but hissed. "The contract will be fulfilled to the best of possible circumstances as they happen. However, just like before – even if the contract is terminated, your soul ultimately belongs to me." Ciel turned a hot glare onto his butler, ignoring the voyeur that was Alistar for the time. "So I am aware – you've made it abundantly clear that you aren't going to let me escape. However, you did not say that my curiosity would harm our deal, only that it would injure myself. Did you, then, lie to me?" Ciel challenged. Sebastian met his challenge with a bitter retort. "Of course not." He snapped, sounding offended, as he usually did when accused of breaking the terms of their deal – however ironic that was, given the situation. "But that is only because I plan fully well on stopping you before the contract comes into play. By whatever means are required."
"Enough." Alistar, silently observing, intervened. He met Sebastian's glare this time with a hard but otherwise unidentifiable expression of his own. "I believe it is in your best interest to place some distance between yourself and your master – before both of you lose your heads." A low growl made Ciel jump unwillingly. It took him a moment to realize it had come from his own butler.
"Do not interfere." Sebastian growled menacingly.
"Do not make me interfere, and I won't." Alistar rebutted firmly, holding his ground. "The aura here is beginning to affect you. If you can not see that, then you are not fit to remain here with your master." A light of realization dawned over Sebastian's head, though the defiance did not leave his eyes. "Or had you forgotten who's territory you presently occupy?" Alistar warned, but there was no real bite to it. It was as if he already knew he'd won – something the dark-clad butler apparently found reprehensible, for he frowned at the other demon with a sore and sour look.
"Very well." Sebastian conceded reluctantly. "Maybe a bit of time to cool off would indeed be best." With one last, suspicious look at his master, Sebastian turned smoothly away from the two, wandering off a ways before vanishing into the shadows of the night.
It took Ciel a moment to process everything that just happened. What did Alistar mean when he said the aura was affecting him? Is that why Sebastian got so hostile? Come to think of it, it was a bit unlike him...
"Are you alright?" Ciel cleared the fuzz from his head with a decent shake, focusing on the white clad demon, who had come to sit beside him.
"I'm okay." The earl mumbled, still pondering over what just transpired.
"Don't be upset with him, if you can help it." Alistar counselled. "It happens sometimes to demons who are... out of their element for too long."
"You mean out of Hell?"
"Something like that, yes." Alistar explained. "It makes sense when you think about it. If you were taken away from basically all human contact for several years, with only animals to keep you company, you might find re-integrating with your own kind a bit...overwhelming." He smirked lightly. "This village is, in all likelihood, just as strange to him as it is to you, though perhaps in a different way. Not many demons take it upon themselves to nurse the injured or the sick – survival of the fittest, and what have you. It's a mind-frame many of the higher-ranking demons of our world possess, your own demon included." Alistar explained. "You can't really be angry with him. It's in his instincts to hide any sign of weakness, especially with other demons present. That includes distress or discomfort." Ciel could almost laugh, but he didn't, settling for a triumphant smirk.
"So you're telling me that all of that was just a bit of stress?"
"Basically, yes. You have to figure that our senses are different than yours. There's an entire sensory world that you do not have an awareness of, but which demons naturally uptake from the time they are born. There are many sights, smells, sounds and auras here which are strange and threatening – not to him, per-say, but to you." Alistar explained, gesturing to the crowd, who was being enraptured by Gabriel's tale, of which Ciel noted bitterly that he'd missed out on anyway. "You are contracted to him. His purpose here on earth does not exist if you cease to exist. Besides, what demon isn't a little food aggressive?" Alistar smiled, encouraging Ciel, somehow, to brighten his mood. This demon...he had a very interesting effect on people's emotions, Ciel noticed. He mentally bookmarked the thought for later contemplation when the crowd of demons made a joyous ruckus as Gabriel finished his tale, throwing the wings into the fire as he did so.
"You'll have to regale to me that story a different time, Alistar. Regardless of Sebastian's moodiness, I still want to hear it." Ciel commented. Alistar chuckled in response. "Perhaps I shall, some other time." Gabriel appeared at the side of his mate then, drawing the white demon's attention away. The two exchanged an affectionate head-butt, their foreheads touching briefly.
The touching moment didn't last.
In the next instant, both of the lover's body languages changed dramatically, and just like Sebastian's before, their bodies took on a defensive edge, their muscles tense and minds clearly aware. But something didn't seem quite right – Alistar seemed more relaxed than his mate was or Sebastian had been.
"Alistar." A heavy, booming voice echoed through the village, drawing all eyes east of the fire and hushing all voices or cries, bringing upon the village a creepy silence. Those on that side of the pyre parted swiftly to reveal another demon, one of impressive size, carrying a small, impish creature in his hand. The creature didn't look like a youngling, but rather a real-life imp, green skin and pointed ears included.
"Your security really should be tighter." The demon's voice was as deep and hollow as a truss of thunder, his impressive height and substantial muscle mass making him a very intimidating sight indeed. Daring to glance upwards, Ciel did a double take when he found a tightly curled set of horns atop the demon's head and animal like ears flicking irritably on either side of his face, which was folded into a menacing frown. His skin was very dark, negroe-like in colour, and his eyes were a piercing golden hue, with pupils like a cat's.
The huge demon dropped the struggling imp before Alistar, stepping on it's tail to keep it from escaping. The imp gave a shout in response, but attempted not to free itself.
"And why, might I ask, did you bring that here?" Alistar said cooly.
"I found it wandering near the gassing chamber." 'Gassing chamber?'
"Did you now?" Alistar stated flatly, clearly disbelieving him. "Well, no matter. It's only a scavenger, same as the rest. Do with it as you will." Ciel felt a ripple of unease course through his abdomen, sensing a challenge in the white demon's statement.
"Are you sure that is wise?" The other demon's voice echoed menacingly off the building behind the earl. "You know perfectly well the precise sort of monster that I am. You've called me such yourself."
"Because you are a brute." Alistar replied simply, as if stating a fact. The other demon's frown turned into a snarl. In the next instant, Ciel watched in horror as the larger demon unceremoniously squashed the tiny imp beneath his bare foot, which was adorned with long, talon-like claws. Ciel resisted the sudden urge to vomit as he heard the creature's bones snap and crunch amidst the squick and shlip of blood and entrails being forcefully expelled through orfices they should rightly never be near. A wave of nausea hit him hard then, doubling him over in an attempt not to lose his supper. A calming hand was placed on his back, and he could sense more than see the return of his butler at his side.
"Oh? What is this I see? A human in our midst?" The demon's voice practically bellowed, amusement tainting his tone. "What a pathetic wretch you have become to us, Alistar, to be keeping pets like that." Ciel's stomach flipped now not only from anxiety, but anger as well.
"Too bad for you he's not mine to have." Alistar replied smoothly, Sebastian smirking in spite of the jab.
"So you let others who bow before mankind to infiltrate us?" He sounded angry now. "How much lower will you sink?"
"As low as I must in order to keep my charges safe." Ciel peeked up from his hunched position to regard Alistar with a bizarre sense of nobility, for such a phrase could hardly be called anything but noble in it's cause.
"Ah, yes, the humble hero." The other demon mocked. "Mankind has left their mark on you. What a shame. Had you proven yourself useful, there's a chance you would have been able to go back to Gehenna." Alistar's body stance became more guarded, and Gabriel let out a growl. Alistar raised a halting hand, pausing Gabriel in his movement to stand up for his mate.
"Forgive me, I am sure I heard you wrong." Alistar said pleasantly, smiling wickedly. "I was sure I heard you say you wanted me to bow down to you and your war-obsessed master, not join your cause." The other demon growled. "And to that I say no thank you."
"You can run all you want." The behemoth demon stepped forward, his foot making a wet sound as it left the dead creature beneath it. "But you can not escape what is coming. I do not want the Devourers to get their greedy claws upon the stone which opens the portal between this world and our own any more than you. Their cause is aimless and utter chaos; they serve no master but themselves." The demon said. "But I also do not find it wise to keep such a possession in the human world precisely because of fiends like that."
"You shall not have it any more than they." Alistar clipped sternly, making the other demon growl. It was as close to raising his voice as Ciel had heard the white demon use. "For your intentions with the stone are no less than theirs. I know Satan well. I used to serve his sons, if you recall." Ciel's heart sank violently into his stomach, making him feel ill all over again. Just what were they talking about? What stone?
"That ill-tempered fool is what started the whole mess we demons find ourselves in." Alistar accused boldly. "He is the one who began the Great War and he is the one who causes humanity the most grief of any of the Kings. Yet, he is not even one who can walk amongst mankind in this world." Ciel listened on, more and more confused. "The only reason Satan wants the Indras Stone is to unleash his own hell on this earth. He hates humans with a passion I never knew a demon like us capable – yet you would bring him the means to walk this world in the flesh? Have you any idea the consequences of that? You don't seriously believe that the Angels would stand idly by whilst the Devil himself walked the earth?" Alistar argued. "But then, I suppose that's what he wants, isn't it? There's never any forgiveness or redemption for that Devil."
"As neither there should be for you!" The bigger demon bellowed with a deafening roar. Ciel shrank against the noise, feeling Sebastian's presence come closer to him still. "Forgiveness is a human trait, a human weakness." the demon hissed. Ciel peered over his knees to see that the brutish demon had come within a half a meter of Alistar and was effectively looming over him, though the white-clad demon didn't move a centimetre from his place, standing his ground with pridefully squared shoulders. It made Ciel believe the other demon's intimidation was just for show, and he was nearly inclined to chuckle at the scene, so alike to many he'd been in himself before.
"And what does that make your incurable ire and cockiness, hm?" Alistar challenged. "Because from where I stand it doesn't seem to be doing you any favours besides making Gabriel angry that I won't let him beat you up." Sure enough, said demon stood behind Alistar looking absolutely livid, his head bowed and shoulders raised like the hackles of a dog.
"Lucky he won't let me at you either." Gabriel muttered, though his voice had dropped to a dangerous pitch.
The demon, now insulted, gave a mighty roar, making as if to lash out at Alistar. Ciel watched the demon cock back a fist that would surely have broken even Alistar's bones, what with what the brute did to that imp. But before he could rebound that energy forward into a punch, the pale demon let out a single, drawn-out hiss of a kind that sent a chill running up the earl's spine. The pitch was deep and somehow multi-tonal, as if he was striking two notes in that eerie hiss, which rasped out of his throat for a solid five seconds, growing louder all the time. The sound was enough to give the other demon pause, but it didn't make him pause for long. Once the hissing came to a sharp halt, he began his momentum again, though his aim redirected itself lower.
"I wouldn't do that." Gabriel, suddenly in a much brighter mood, sing-songed.
In the next instant Ciel came to understand what he meant. A sharp, sudden, spitting hiss erupted quite violently from Alistar's mouth, and with it a stream of spray that initially seemed to be just saliva – once it hit the bigger demon's face, however, the brute instantly recoiled as if struck.
"GaaaAAAAAHHH!" The brute gave a cry, seemingly in pain. A few whisps of a vapour rose from his cheek where the spray had landed, weaving between the giant's fingers as he clutched the wound with both hands.
"I told you you didn't want to do that." Gabriel mocked, smiling pridefully. "See, there's a reason no one messes with Alistar, and it's not just because he has a tag team." Gabriel explained haughtily, coming to stand by his mate with a ridiculously triumphant smirk. "But because he spits. Like a cobra. And for a half blind demon, he's got damn good aim." The brute gave another cry of pain, doubling over as if he was to be sick. "Also like a cobra, that venom will blind you. Unlike a cobra, however, it will blind you permanently." Gabriel explained as he listened to the brutish demon groan.
"You'll find it will wear off in about an hour." Alistar said coldly. "I really don't like wasting perfectly good venom on lowlifes like you, but I suppose everybody has a challenge line. You dare come into my territory, my home, and treat me with such disrespect? As I recall it, you were left to die by that master of yours, were you not?" Alistar huffed, sounding genuinely angry now. "I am the one who took you in, who sheltered you and healed your wounds, and yet, you would challenge me like this?" Alistar came up to the other demon, who had keeled onto his side and was slowly but surely curling in on himself. 'I can't imagine how painful that venom must be to affect a demon like that. Especially one that big.' Ciel swallowed a lump in his throat he hadn't realized was there.
Alistar knelt down to the other demon's level, his eyes intense in their stare, despite his focal blindness. "Don't you think you're being a little ungrateful?" He whispered threateningly. The bigger demon instantly curled into a tight, protective ball, shielding his neck in particular with his hands. Alistar, satisfied by the display of submission, stood back up.
"Gabriel. Take him outside the border. If he wants to stir up trouble and begin anew the troubles of our kind, then let him be with those who share that ideal. The Devourers can have him now." At this, the demon shifted upright, a peculiar look of fear in his eyes.
"No, Alistar – "
"Do not dare question me." Alistar commanded, his voice no louder than before, but possessing the intensity of a roar. "I gave you life, and you have thus betrayed me. I will not stand for this. As punishment, you will be banished from the village for a fortnight. If you are alive after that, then you may return and I might accept an apology." He whirled to face the demon now, a frightening expression on his pale face. "Is that little enough forgiveness for you?" With nothing else to say, the pale demon whirled back around, waving a mobilizing hand at Gabriel. Ciel, sitting silent through the ordeal, and not knowing in the slightest what to make of it yet, jumped when Alistar called his name.
"Come, little Phantomhive." He beckoned with the same hand. "You've had quite enough to deal with tonight."
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WHOO! That was a doozey of a chapter to write. Who knew Alistar could be so mean?
It might be a while before I can update again, but any reviews you have will be greatly appreciated. Suggestions, predictions, etc. I'll take it all.
With that, I bid you all goodnight!