Wishes Have Aftershock Tremors (Kiriyama)

[Sakume]

OoC: I have to admit, I just thought it was cool that the thread is abbreviated "What?" Because that's what's going to be going on for a lot of it.

BiC: Ash continued to pour over the vast, empty land of Red Hill’s wasted environment. He ran a thoughtful hand through his red, silky, short hair while staring out into the approaching night. The sunset quickly approached, and along with it, another restless day for The Wishmaster. He allowed a leg to hang off the side of the boulder he tried to relax on. His cold, listless eyes flashed among the surroundings he found, wishing something would move, if even for the worse.

He felt… he didn’t know how to explain it. As if he wished himself for some poor soul to come for a wish. Not because he knew he could get something out of it each time and grow stronger, but because he enjoyed the company of the people, even when it was bad for them.

You grow restless, my servant.

“Yes… I do.” Pyralis whispered back to the master he knew. “I wish for something. Do you sense anything happening in the future?”

I do. There is something that will happen soon, it will satisfy your craving, my servant.

“Good,” Pyralis commented, leg unconsciously moving up and down in a jittery motion. “Do they come with a wish?”

It is too early to tell. Be patient, and your power shall come.

“Very well.” Pyralis allowed his thoughts to drift back, though he didn’t really have memories to recall. The first thing he really vividly drew out was his birth, the moment he awakened, not knowing who he was or what he was. The young man had no knowledge of any concept such as slavery, or how it was wrong, including emotions and the idea of being an individual, a free person.

Recalling your birth, aren’t you?

“Yes. I was remembering,” Pyralis stated, leaning back slightly, then forward enough to see his reflection. To this being, all Pyralis knew was being the slave of his master. He was to do as his master asked without question, and as such, he had no right to act as if he knew anything. He was simply to obey and act. Those were the only things he knew. He had no personality, no wants, no needs… or so he thought. The truth, was that Pyralis did remember other things.

Of course, the images and thoughts were not vivid enough to cause any damage to the master’s claims. All the young man could see at those times were flashes of unknown people. The most often seen person was a brown-haired boy, usually drawing as Pyralis had learned to do, only using something other than his finger in ash. He sometimes seemed to be by the sea for a reason. Pyralis knew what water was, as he learned more every day, but he wasn’t sure why this boy lingered so often near to it. He saw another person, too, one that was a female.

What were they meant for? Why were they different than he? Pyralis wondered this as he recalled the features of the specific girl. She was blonde, with light, fluffy curls. Her face, angelic in form, innocent like he seemed to be was broken with a smile usually.

Without realizing it, Pyralis himself echoed her expression. She was seen sometimes with the boy the Wishmaster knew of, the two of them appearing to be quite happy. He wondered who she was and why he kept seeing her. He said nothing about his master, knowing that the force would not be pleased, somehow.

Instead, he let all thoughts of the future fade away, not looking forward to what was going to happen for the time being. He let her image freeze inside his mind, standing out against any other idea, shimmering in the darkness of his consciousness. He found himself blocking out every other notion as he closed his eyes, focusing on simply her face, still smiling. He was at peace.

*-----------------*

In the distance, a figure chuckled, running his fingers through one pocket of his tan trench coat. His brown hair, though greasy, framed his face well. He used his left hand to twirl a sterling silver watch, letting it rest as he placed a thin-wire frame of glasses on his face. Not like he needed them, but they made him look smarter, and they looked good on him, shielding his sea-green eyes.

He paused at a nearby pole after a second glance, noticing a person putting up a notice on it. After a short cough, he neared the person, careful to pop his collar up and stay behind him. “Ah, what’s that you have there, stranger?” he asked, his semi-lighthearted voice piquing up.

“We have a conman on the loose around here lately, and he needs to be stopped. We’re warning people now before he comes this way.” The official replied, tacking up a picture and a hefty reward below it. “They’re offering a lot of money if he can be caught, but they say he’s like shadow. Watch yourself, sir.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.” He commented, shaking his head as he disappeared, un-popping his collar to reveal the very face that had been on the poster. “Too late, old man. I’ve already milked this place for all its worth. People really are so funny. You can take all they have, and they still think you’re the golden image of innocence.”

He listened joyfully to the coins within his pocket. This would be enough to keep him going for a while. He came upon a sign post, and cocked his head, pride consuming him. No one could stop him now. Where should he visit next?

“Ah?” His sharp eyes suddenly rested upon the left arrow, narrowing slightly. “Red Hill…” he growled under his breath. “Why is it that you always seem to end up where you begin in life? I wonder what’s happening around here these days… might as well drop in for a quick visit.”

He kicked a bit of dirt up with his black boots, his white blouse under his vest looking quite snazzy. “I don’t see why not… in fact…” He looked opposite to the destination he had decided upon, a building resembling a castle looming in the distance.

“Why don’t I just give myself another reason again to live up to my name… how about it, Con, old boy?” he asked no one in particular. “You up for trying to get more than you have already? Why not?... besides, if I’m going to end up trying to find her, I’m going to need a lot more money, anyway… and no one would hire me.” He began to approach the building, pausing once he reached the castle’s large doors. “Might as well knock, it’s only polite.” He lifted the hefty iron ring, letting it fall with a resounding bang.

[Kiriyama]

Hell… That was the only thing he could compare it to. Was that a bad thing? Of course not. Fire, brimstone, violence, all things that he was proud to say that he stood for. So why did the sight before him, homes, businesses, burned black, make him sick to his stomach?

Against the backdrop of charred buildings and orange flames was a single golden bracelet. It sat in the middle of what was once a beautiful garden. Instead of a bed of roses and daisies, the jewelry sat upon a thin layer of ash.

“Merry Christmas,” he muttered, tears welling in his crimson eyes. The very words he’d uttered when he gave her the bracelet. He could still see the inscription on the side, warped as it was by flame, proclaiming “Love always, Lai”.

~

The room was, unlike Lai’s, neat and tidy. A queen sized bed took up the Eastern wall, with an oaken desk and chair dominating its opposite. The Northern wall was bare save for a single window with lacy pink curtains, while the Southern wall was where the inhabitant’s dresser was placed. The door was in the corner where the Southern and Western walls met, on the Southern side.

A young woman stood at the window and looked out, observing the new dawn. She noted with a bit of scorn that they were once again situated in a new location. It seemed like the portal generator malfunctioned every week or so, taking the whole castle to new surroundings. It was a wonder that they hadn’t appeared on top of any pre-existing structures.

“Damn it Hojo,” she mumbled, still drowsy. She found her wire frame glasses on her desk and neatly placed them on her nose. “Should’ve fixed the problem by now. I’m too busy keeping Lai from killing himself to baby-sit you.”

As if on cue the door opened and a raven haired man stepped in. He wore a night cap, which was at odds with the plain tuxedo he was wearing (And had been wearing for the past fifty years). The man took his cap with one hand and brushed his hair with the other.

“Good morning Letho,” he said, putting his cap back on. “I didn’t know you slept in such plain pajamas. Then again, I guess I’m hardly one to criticize. Still, you’re Prince Lailoken’s top servant, and should be dressed accord-”

“Shut up Hojo,” she sharply replied. Letho grabbed her hand mirror from her desk and set about tying her hair in its customary plethora of braids. “What I wear is none of your business. Besides, why are you bugging me about this? I thought it was your shift to watch Lai.”

Hojo shifted his weight from one foot to the other, cursing himself for forgetting about the strict schedule his associate had set. The Prince makes three suicide attempts and he’s supposed to watch him sleep? Of course, Letho cared more about the nether than him. To Hojo, Lailoken was just a pretty face and means for a living.

“It is, it is. I hardly think he’s going to kill himself in his sleep though. If anything, he’ll kill me instead. Remember when he choked me in his sleep until I passed out, and then beat me when he awoke because he thought I was trying to take advantage of him?”

Letho threw him an angry glance, and wryly replied, “Until he choked you, you were trying to take advantage of him.”

“Bah,” Hojo said, smoothing out a wrinkle in his tuxedo. “You know as well as I do that he’s not my type. He’s younger than some of the hairs on my head. Just kind of cute, is all.”

“I’ll remember that,” Letho dryly noted, and set her mirror down. She stood up and gave Hojo a small ‘Do what I say or I’m going to mess you up’ smile. “Would you go check on him at least? I can’t walk around in my pajamas.”

The male demon opened his mouth to protest, but quickly closed it and retreated. It was futile to try and reason with her when she was in that kind of mood. Though he was technically a higher class of demon than she was, Prince Pyrrhus had assigned her as his head servant long ago, and that meant that she outranked him while they were in the castle.

Hojo crossed the hall to Lai’s door and grabbed the metal knob. He paused and drummed his fingers on its smooth form. What if the Prince was awake? He certainly didn’t enjoy his servants barging into his room without so much as knocking.

“He’s asleep,” the lust demon said, reassuring himself. “He’ll stay sleeping for a few days, then he’ll wake up for an hour or so, and then he’ll go back to sleep. It’s been like that for three weeks now.”

He slowly turned the knob, dreadfully aware of every minute detail of his surroundings. Hojo saw the round fixture turning, felt its cold surface beneath his sweaty palm, heard a grind and a click issue forth from inside the door, could smell the musty scent of Lai’s room.

“Does he have to keep the door closed all the time?” Hojo thought, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “His room wouldn’t smell like this if it got some fresh air once in a while.”

The wooden door was gently pulled open, revealing a room with no noticeable floor. The bottom of the room was lost long ago in the clutter of weapons, clothing, snacks, and various other assorted junk. As the servant in charge of the cleaning staff, it was Hojo’s job to clean the mess up. He didn’t like it in Lai’s room though, and thus stayed well away from it for the most part.

His eyes darted about the room in search of two things: The sleeping form of Prince Lailoken Pyrrhus, and the closet. The closet was the main reason he hated this room. Within it dwelled a tentacled beast known as a Shoggoth, which Lai affectionately referred to as a pet. He wouldn’t be so fond of it if he knew what it did to him in his sleep, of course.

Hojo found the closet door closed, and let out a sigh of relief. Subsequent scans of the room quickly revealed that the creature in the closet was the only living being in the room. Lai was nowhere to be found.

“Letho!” he called, wheeling around and running for his associate’s room. “We might have a problem!”

~

Outside of the castle, sitting on one of the gargoyles that adorned a section of the wall several hundred feet above the entrance, was a thin, purple-haired boy. He wore no shirt, exposing his malnourished physique. His ribs were plainly visible, and each breath was labored.

The Prince was always fairly thin, a horribly fast metabolism was to blame for that, but going for so much time without eating anything led him to this state. He supposed that starving himself counted as his fourth suicide attempt, though this attempt wasn’t intentional. In fact, he wouldn’t be making any more suicide attempts in the near future.

He pulled a sweat stained slip of paper from his jeans and read it over again with his crimson eyes. A letter from his father, King Elijah Pyrrhus. His father never really liked his illegitimate son, but the letter held knowledge that would almost show a kind of twisted love.

“To receive,” he said, reading a small part of the letter to himself, “one must first give. A Wishmaster exists who could bring her back. He’s known to mess with the wishes however, so wishing her back to life might not work too well. Why not wish for something that can’t be screwed up? He only requires something in return.”

Lai crumpled the paper up and jammed it back into his pocket. What did he have? He’d heard from witnesses, several of whom were half-crazed, that the Wishmaster had no need for money or land. That was just about all he had, now that she was gone.

A sudden bang reached his ears and Lai looked down at the entrance to his castle. A visitor? He sighed and slipped off of the gargoyle.

“May as well see what they want,” he thought, plummeting to the ground below.

[Sakume]

OoC: Hope it's good. o-o;

BiC: Con waited for what seemed to him an eternity, but then again, he had never been a very patient person. He sighed and let another bang ring through the castle, just before a shadow overcoming him reached his sight. He looked up and stepped back in quite a hurry, just before the person landed in front of him.

Con took a moment to survey this new appearance, the first thing catching his eyes being the purple vivid hair. "Weird," he stated aloud.

"What is?"

Con mentally cursed himself as he realized he had let his mouth get the better of him. Before opening his mouth to reply, he took in the rest of the person. An extremely skinny chest could be pinpointed probably from much further away than Con currently was. What did they do, starve people that lived here? He racked his mind for an answer that wouldn't sound incredibly insulting, since you usually needed to enter a person's house before stealing from them.

"Nothing. Just thinking to myself." The facial expression of the person that stood inbetween Con and the doors told the man that his excuse probably wasn't thought out well-enough.

"Okay, then. Who are you and why are you here?" The stranger asked, a smirk on his face with his arms crossed. Con's eyesight caught a glimmer of a bulge in the pocket of the person's pants. Money, maybe?

"My name is Con. I was passing through Red Hill, and decided to come here, since it seems you've got spare room, to ask if I might intrude." The man was definetely rusty on his politeness, but he didn't really care. He had lived so much of his life on the street that his previous charm was wearing a bit thin.

"Con, huh? Red Hill? Is that where we are now?" He took a look around for a moment.

"What?" Con asked, slightly shocked. They didn't know where they were? Okay, that was more than a little strange. "Yeah. And your name?"

"Lailoken Pyrrhus."

"Lailo-who? No offense, but that's rather a long name, isn't it?" Con asked. "Nevermind. So are you going to be able to give me shelter, or what?"

"Tell me more about where we are and anything you know about The Wishmaster, and you're free to stay as long as you like." Although the guy was probably lying to Con through his teeth, Con had no reason not to enter. He wasn't planning to stay anyway, just get what he could and ditch the place. Besides, he knew nothing about any Wishmaster, but he knew a bit about Red Hill's history.

"Sounds fine to me." Con replied, entering the first floor of the castle. It immediately gave him somewhat of a gothic feel to it. "Big place." He felt dwarfed by the interior decorations and so on. "You mind if I move about?"

"Not at all. Just start talking."

Before Con could begin to speak, two figures came rushing towards him, but then breezed straight past to Lailoken. One was a woman, and quite homely to Con's view. The other was a man in a suit, and both seemed to be extremely relieved, although for what, Con didn't know.

"Prince Lailoken. Are you alright?" she asked, offering a bow while the other man turned to look at Con, raising an eyebrow.

Con felt somewhat uncomfortable at the man's gaze, though he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because the man, if he was human, was much taller than Con was. "Um... hi."

"Who's this?" he asked Lailoken, smiling almost as if he were planning something.

"I'm fine, Letho. You don't have to worry. This is Con. He's going to be staying with us in exchange for a little information." Con, while the three spoke with one another, began to wander up the main stairwell. "Hm... this place is bone-dry with any riches. Come on, there must be..." He moved out of sight of the three, who seemed to be bickering slightly, especially the tall one and the woman. The word Wishmaster caught Con's ear several times, but he ignored it.

A creek of an already open door eventually caught the man's attention. He cracked it further, eyes widening. "Jackpot." The floor was littered with junk and among it, treasures. A strange combination, but one that caught Con's eye, either way. He leaned down, rummaging through the empty packages of pretzels. If he had looked closer, he might have noticed something strange about the wording on the bag, but he didn't care to see. After tossing aside more snack foods, a sparkle caught the man's eye. "Aha. Hello there, my pretty." Bending over, Con snatched up the sparkling gold piece. This would provide him with enough finances to eat for a month.

Noticing that most of everything else was buried under clothes, trash, and weapons, Con sighed. He didn't have time to dig through everything. He cocked his head towards a shut door near the side of the room. The closet? Maybe there was something in there worth taking for himself... he reached for the doorknob.

"What are you doing?" Con nearly had a heart attack, turning around to see Lailoken and his male (servant or fellow resident, Con presumed) behind him.

"What exactly are you, to do all that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "How'd you get up here so fast?" His hand fingered the gold piece he had snatched behind his back. The only rule for him was, "Thou shalt not get caught. Get what you can and get away." He had to live how he had been taught to live, and he was pretty sure the man wouldn't miss one gold coin, anyway. It was such a small treasure. Con wasn't causing any trouble.

The brow of Lailoken furrowed slightly. "I asked what you were doing in here. And what do you have behind your back?"

"Nothing." Con's poker face would have convinced any normal person easily.

"Don't lie to me." Con's heart began to begin thudding faster. If these weren't normal people, stealing from them wouldn't be such a good idea. He dropped the coin, and if it weren't for the sword that just happened to be laying behind him, it wouldn't have made a sound. Unfortunately, it rang out with a slight cling. Con winced uncharacteristically.

"Look, it was just a gold coin. I won't steal from you, I pro-" He was cut out halfway through with a huge bang. His sight became double and he reached both hands up to his head, his vision blurring out as he fell on his side.

The woman he had seen before stalked out from behind him, dropping the huge metal shield she had been holding. Lailoken turned to her with a slight smile. "Good work."

[Kiriyama]

“What are we going to do with him?” Hojo asked, jauntily crossing the length of the room and picking up Con’s unconscious form with ease. “Your father always enjoys punishing thieves by sawing off their hands and dipping the stumps into a salt and vinegar solution. He gets the perfect reaction every time. The hardiest men weep like dying babies under such treatment.”

“No,” Lai said, repulsed by the casual smirk on Hojo’s lips. He wasn’t disgusted because of his servant’s joy in the subject, of course. He was merely repulsed by the idea that the lust demon would actually settle for such a simple brand of pain. “I don’t feel like torturing him, and you of all people should know that I wouldn’t do anything that would make people think me akin to my father.”

Hojo rolled his eyes and shifted the brown-haired man to his shoulder. Unlike Lailoken, he had the utmost respect for King Elijah. The King was a man of innumerable good qualities in his eyes. Elijah was strong, prideful, handsome, ruthless, and by far the most successful ruler in the fifth layer of the Underworld. He was a golden idol deserving of limitless praise and fear. He was a-

“Bastard,” Letho said dryly, slowly shaking her head and joining Lai. Like her master she had no love for King Elijah. She could still remember the ruler’s snide comments about how she was the least attractive slave for sale, and how that meant she was perfect for his illegitimate son. The nether had immediately set her free upon receiving her, and offered her a position as a paid servant, rather than a pitiful slave.

“Excuse me?” Hojo said, following them into the hall and down the stairs, undoubtedly heading to the basement-level dungeon. “King Elijah is the greatest ruler in the history of existence, the sexiest flame incubus ever, and the strongest demon in the Underworld. Have you already forgotten all the times he’s beaten your bony ass, Lai?”

“Have you forgotten that he permanently bonded you to that tuxedo?” Lai retorted venomously, slightly quickening his pace. There were two things he hated talking about, and his servant had touched upon both of them in one glorious moment of idiocy: His father, and his past failures.

The lust demon reacted as though the prince’s words had taken physical form and punched him in the stomach, taking all of his temporary malice and converting it into blinding pain. The moment passed and Hojo’s own malice bubbled to the surface, twisting his face into a furious scowl.

“He did that for good reason, and he’ll undo it eventually! You, on the other hand, will never escape your current predicament! You’re always going to be a bastard prince, even after Elijah dies! One of your siblings will take the throne, and then another, and then another!”

Pyrrhus spun on his heel and faced his servant, his eyes shadowed and hiding an inner flame. Hojo stopped and bent down to reach eye-level with Lai, who was exactly a foot shorter than the lust demon, and spoke in a whisper that never reached the marginally frightened Letho’s ears.

“Even your sibling’s children will be higher up on the line of succession than you,” he hissed, his own inner fire apparent in his eyes. He didn’t quite hate Lai, but he’d never let anybody get away with insulting the brave King Elijah. “And you know why? Because you’re dirt. Hell, Letho should be a higher ranked demon than you, and her mom was a slave-producing whore. It’s because you’re part human. That’s why you fell for that human ***** that’s got you so de-”

Thwap! The prince’s fist connected with Hojo’s jaw and sent him reeling, very nearly dropping Con in his mad fight to keep his balance. After a few seconds of teetering and dancing, he regained his footing and rose to his full height.

“Lai,” he said, the fire gone. The punch knocked away whatever anger he’d had for the prince. In its place came pity for the dreadlocked boy before him. Hojo knew what it was like to lose somebody important, and had forgotten how much the human girl meant to Pyrrhus. He reached his free hand out to touch his master’s shoulder, only for it to be brushed away with a flaming hatred that he could feel emanating from the hybrid’s very pores.

“Shut up,” Lai said, shrugging away Letho’s hand when she too went to touch his shoulder. He pushed past Hojo, again causing him to go into a teetering dance, and walked up to his room with a small trail of flame left in his wake. His servants exchanged glances and resumed their trek to the dungeon.

~

“You’re a dick, you know that?” Letho said, unlocking the solid cast-iron door and opening it for her colleague. Hojo walked into the small cell and gently laid Con on the solitary cot. Lai’s female servant almost considered closing the door and locking him in with the thief. Lord knew he deserved it.

The lust demon joined her outside of the cell and let her close and lock the door before speaking, somewhat afraid of her pushing him in and doing exactly what he guessed her to be considering. Once he heard the heavy clicks and clangs of the door’s two locks moving into place, he decided it was safe to speak. He sighed and brushed at his hair with his palm.

“I know, I know. You know how much I like King Elijah though,” he said, perhaps trying to convince her that he’d been properly provoked. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. The gesture made him wince, despite the fact that he was larger and stronger than her.

“We all know about your man-crush Hojo. You shouldn’t have said whatever you said to him though,” she scorned him, looking at him with a look of tired annoyance behind her wire-rim glasses. “You should go apologize to him. Maybe make up for it somehow.”

The elder demon sighed and nodded. He suddenly took Letho’s keys and opened the cell, strolling in and grabbing the prisoner before his fellow servant could react. Hojo walked out and tossed the keys back to her. In her state of shock she forgot everything she knew about catching, and the keys accidentally struck a small breast before falling to the floor, jangling noisily all the way.

“What are you doing?” she finally asked, kneeling down to pick the keys up. Her fellow demon merely walked off and left her to wonder. She wouldn’t find out about Hojo’s idea until it was too late to stop it from changing their lives.

~

Lai sat on a large shield, still unable to find his coffin under all the clutter, and quietly gulped down a bag of stale pretzels. The salty treats hit his tongue tastelessly and were redirected to his gullet, where they were swallowed in their un-chewed state. Pyrrhus nearly choked several times, but continued to eat.

His eyes were trained on a particularly sharp spear lying under a pile of junk, its head the only completely visible part, defiantly poking out from the clutter. He pondered over whether he could smack the pointy object with his head hard enough to puncture his skull. A sudden knock on his door prevented him from finding out the answer, thankfully.

Lailoken stood up and dragged his feet over to the door, unmindful of all the sharp objects he was cutting his feet on, and opened the door to find an unconscious man with a note taped to his chest. Pyrrhus knelt down and looked about, finding nobody in the hallway. He reached out and plucked the piece of paper from Con’s chest, and it only took a moment for him to recognize the handwriting as Hojo’s.

Lai,

I know where the Wishmaster is. He is currently in a barren area in Red Hill, where it rains ash. Whether the rain is a geographical feature or merely a phenomena that follows him, I don’t know. I’m sure you remember how he requires things in exchange for wishes, no?

Well, I know you don’t have anything that he’d find useful, so how about this thief? Offer him as a slave. It’s much better than simply cutting his hands off, am I right? This way you can punish a thief AND get your wish, whatever that may be.

- Always your faithful servant, Hojo.

~

And so, that was how Lai came to drag a thieving conman, unconscious and stuffed in a burlap sack, through an ash-laden wasteland. His bare feet left hollow prints that were quickly wiped away by the bag he pulled with one hand. His other hand was busy wiping ash from his hair and pant-legs.

“What if you’re making a mistake?” an imaginary voice, perhaps his remaining doubt, said. “You can’t go through with this. There are less dangerous ways of getting rid of your pain.”

The prince shook his head and cleared his mind of the voice. This was the only way to be rid of his pain, and he didn’t care what any imaginary voice in the back of his mind told him. He trudged onward through the ash in search of anything that stood out in the dreary landscape…

[Sakume]

Where are you going?

"I wanted to discover more about this place called Red Hill," Pyralis replied in a dead tone, pausing at the entrance to his home. This was not the truth, and his master easily sensed this. Pyralis could never hide things from his master normally, although there were times he seemed to.

You want another like you did with her, don't you? You look for satisfaction. You will get it if you are faithful and obedient. You must remain here. The wisher approaches.

"A wish? Ah... good." He fingered a few of the silver rings on his sash. "More for me... no... more for us."

Something else troubles you. What is it, my servant?

"I... cannot say. I do not know how to word it. I am satisfied another wishing person comes." He slinked back into the darkness of the clearing, waiting. "It is a feeling that is good."

~

"Hello?" The figure dropped the bag containing the unconscious Con without much care, looking around the suspicious environment. This seemed to be the origin of the ash, as it was thickest here, easily a few inches deep. "Wishmaster. I have a wish for you." He made a mental note not to get near the small pond of water in the middle of this clearing. He never did like water much.

Do not show yourself.

The ash crunched slightly after a moment, his boots reacting to it as if it were a gray snow. He slinked between the trees, standing tall and fearless on the outcrop of dull rock that shadowed the dirty pool of water.

"You have called me. You know my name. Who told you this?" The voice was low, bitter, and commanding. He swept back a bit of his tunic as he rubbed a few fingers of his right hand together, a small piece of flint nimbly moving in his palm. He liked playing with the rock; it gave him something to do while he thought.

What are you doing? I ordered you to remain hidden. You're defying me?

"I have heard the locals speak of you. They tell me you grant wishes in exchange for things, am I right?" Lai asked, tail swishing behind him calmly.

His dark orbs snapped towards Lai, an almost evil smile on his face. "You know many things. It seems my reputation preceeds me. You also know then that you must have payment for such things as wishes. They do not come cheaply. What can you offer me?"

I see. Continue.

"I offer you this man." Lai glanced down at the sack, taking a few hurried steps back as it suddenly began to burn off.

"Hm..." Pyralis rested his hand in mid-air, flames swirling about his flesh, but not brothering him. The sack completely disintegrated within moments of the heated fire's licking about it. Con's figure lay sprawled out on the ashen ground, still unconscious. "A man? Why would I require this as payment? What do you propose I do with him?" He turned his deadly gaze on Lai, hand still shimmering with a fire that crackled about a foot high.

"You... can keep him as a slave, kill him, whatever it is that would please you." Lai's tail had begun to move a bit faster, perhaps an outlet for nervousness.

A slave?... this idea intrigues me. You could use a slave... someone to obey you and any order you give. Perhaps it will be of good use to you. Accept this payment. It is fair.

"What is he called?" Pyralis asked, narrowing his eyes at the fallen man.

"He claimed his name was Con."

"Con... yes, he will do as payment." Flash. A bright eruption of bright heat and he appeared near the payment. "He could prove to be quite useful, should I decide to do more with him... now. Awaken." He placed a single palm against the man's forehead, and a chute of flame, in the form of the letter "P", alighted on his head.

Within moments, the thief shot up to his feet, screaming in the shock of the pain. His feet instinctively carried him to the pond of water near the middle of the clearing, and he dunked his head under it, soaking his hair in the frantic effort. He lifted his head from the water, gazing at his reflection for a moment. After lifting his bangs, the burned letter clearly shone through, glowing a deep red.

The flesh began to slowly regenerate itself, covering up the bare bone and stopping the blood flow. Con staggered to his feet, violently turning to Lai. "You!" He couldn't be sure this boy was the cause of his pain, but it was most likely, since his memory blurred after he was caught with the coin. "What the hell did you do to me?" he shouted as he approached the prince.

"Ah ah ah..." Con froze in place and cried out, holding his head as his knees buckled from under him. He collapsed onto them, his forehead smoking a little as the skin sizzled like bacon. "No being rude to the wishers now, Con."

"Who... what are you? How do you know my name?" the man gasped out in between the tears that escaped his eyes. He couldn't help it. Even if Con normally showed no emotion, the pain was just too much.

"You are my new slave. You will obey me. If you choose to do otherwise, the results will not be pleasant. Now. Go wait by the outcrop. I will see to you once I hear this wish. All will be explained in due time... all in my time."

"The hell it will." Con croaked as he lifted a middle finger up to Pyralis, lip curling upward as he spoke. "I'm no slave. For anyone. I'm my own person, individually free." What was this supposed to be? God punishing him for his deeds? What on earth had he done to deserve this?

"You will learn in time." Pyralis equaled the hand expression Con showed him, not knowing what it meant, but having a feeling it was hostile. His hand's flames flared for a moment, and the man formerly defying the Wishmaster disappeared, leaving only a few specks of ash in his place. He turned back to Lai, who blinked in shock.

"Did you... did you kill him?" the stunned boy asked.

"Don't be silly. I have use for him in the future, I'll bet. I merely sent him somewhere where he can... think privately, without any people to distract him. I'll call him back after our business is finished." Pyralis smiled and waved a hand cheerfully. He did not mention that the private quarters happened to be the inner chambers of the not-so-dormant volcano, where Con was currently enduring constant burning of his flesh as it healed over, a never-ending carousel of pain. "He will learn to see things my way."

"Oh... I see. So you will grant my wish?"

"What is your name?" Pyralis asked, tilting his head slightly.

Why are you asking that? What use is a name to me?

"Lailoken," the young man answered, looking a little confused himself. Perhaps the Wishmaster was not what he had thought.

"Lailoken? Lailoken. I like it... My name is Pyralis. I'm... satisfied with meeting you. I will grant your wish."

Making decisions without me?! And telling others your given name?! You are committing treason against me!

Simply blinking once, Pyralis blocked his master's voice from his ears. "Tell me..." He seated himself in the ash on the ground, drawing a very detailed picture of a woman in it with his finger. "What is it you wish for?"

[Kiriyama]

Lai crossed his arms and looked at his feet. What did he want to wish for? He mentally scolded himself for not thinking of his wish sooner. This Pyralis person probably didn’t want to spend all day waiting for the prince to think of a wish, and Pyrrhus himself didn’t want to spend too much more time in this wasteland.

“Well,” he finally said, pulling a golden bracelet from his pocket. He fingered the inscription on the side of the jewelry and looked at Pyralis. “I’m not exactly sure what I want yet. Perhaps a little background information would be best.”

Lailoken put the bracelet back into his pocket and sat down. His spade-tipped tail swished back and forth behind him, leaving lines in the ash. He hugged his knees to his chest and stared at the Wishmaster for a moment before continuing.

“My father’s a king in one of the layers of the Underworld, and for a time he was at war with a group of human kingdoms in the Overworld. As a means of mind games and emotional warfare, he kidnapped a human princess and, whether he seduced her or simply raped her, she came away from the ordeal pregnant with yours truly.”

A fly landed on his back, and the tip of his tail stabbed the fly and flicked it into the ash. With that annoyance taken care of, he continued.

“Her father disowned her when he found out she was pregnant with a demon child, and she was exiled. The kingdom itself soon fell to my father’s, and he forgot about the princess. She gave birth to me, and I eventually found my father and took my place as one of his children. Of course, his reputation suffered for having an un-pure child, and he hated me for it. The hate was, and still is, mutual.”

“Anyway, we fought a lot. After he beat me down for the ninth or tenth time I decided that mental warfare was better than fighting him physically, so I set out to further ruin his reputation. I left my castle in the care of my servants, Letho and Hojo, and went to live amongst humans for a few months. I posed as a human, went to a human ’School’, and everything else that comes with being human. That’s where I met her.”

His hand once more gripped the golden bracelet within his pocket.

“I befriended a human girl named Hallie. At first I thought she was a little strange. As I got used to her though, I started to look forward to seeing her at ‘School’ and meeting up with her afterwards. Things progressed, and I eventually fell in love with her.”

Lailoken pulled the bracelet from his pocket and held it up for Pyralis to see. The demon prince looked at the Wishmaster with tired eyes.

“You see this? I gave it to her for some kind of celebration called ‘Christmas’. She taught me about it, and she invited me to join her and her family in celebrating it, as she knew I lived alone. That night I gave her the bracelet and proclaimed my love for her. She felt the same way, and that was the single happiest moment of my life. She didn’t even care when I revealed to her that I was a demon.”

Pyrrhus tossed the bracelet to Pyralis. He didn’t want it anymore. It gave him too many painful memories.

“She loved me for who I was… and I killed her.”

Lai’s eyes turned their focus back to his feet. His eyes, which had cried so many tears before, attempted to cry once more. He blinked them away before they could escape from his eyes.

“I had to return to my castle after a while, and she came with me because it was ‘Summer Break’, when there was no ‘School’. She lied to her parents and said that she was spending the summer with me at some town called Tybalt. Really nice town, I’ve heard. Anyway, one day she just up and disappeared, and I don’t know why. Then two of my older siblings showed up and told me that my father was finally willing to let me lead a battalion of soldiers in yet another war of his.”

“Despite worrying about where Hallie went, I led the battalion. We burned down several villages and enemy strongholds. One day we came to a village on a hilltop. Havem, I think it was called. I ordered my men to burn it to the ground. When they were finished, I decided to go to the village to view their handiwork… and that’s where I found Hallie’s bracelet. I never identified her body. All the corpses were too burnt up for that.”

His story somewhat finished, as he didn’t feel there was any more to tell, he crossed his legs and wrapped his tail around his waist. Now that he was done telling his life story to this stranger, did he have his wish yet? Lai’s gaze shifted back to the Wishmaster. Of course he did.

Wishing Hallie back to life would have too many loopholes. She could be brought back to life, but still buried in the pit where his soldiers had stuffed the bodies, and thus she would die again within moments. There were all sorts of other ways the wish could’ve gone wrong anyhow.

No, what he wanted was different. Love was what was causing this pain. His love for the lost girl was what kept his dreams full of blazing nightmares and filled his waking moments with more pain than he could bare. He looked at his scarred wrists. Love was to blame for those as well. Everything wrong with his life at that exact moment could be traced back to love. Such a horrid emotion! He had to be rid of it!

“I want to forget her,” he said, standing up. Even if he’d simply wished away love, he would remember the pain if he didn’t wish away the memories. “I want to forget everything about her, and I want the very thought of love to make me sick. I want the word itself to give me terrible pain. Anything’s better than what I’m feeling right now…”

~

“Hojo,” Letho said. She’d finally caught her fellow servant whilst he was drinking his afternoon tea. “I can’t find Lai. Where is he?”

“Oh,” Hojo replied nonchalantly, dabbing his lips with a napkin. “I told him where the Wishmaster is. I’m sure he’ll figure out something to wish for. I gave him the thief to give away as payment. The Wishmaster could use a slave.”

The lust demon was struck for the second time that day. This time, Letho’s open palm slapped the side of his face so hard that his whole body shook, and he spilled his tea. She glared at him with just as much hatred as Lai had earlier. Hojo found himself feeling deja vu.

“You idiot,” she said through clenched teeth. “Slavery is one of the worst things in the world! Lai’s wish, whatever it is, will probably be screwed up as well, won’t it?! Where’s the Wishmaster?!”

“Red Hill,” Hojo replied, rubbing his face. “Look for the place with a lot of ash. You can’t miss it.”

Letho turned and stormed out of the room.

[Sakume]

A chuckle came from the hooded figure, his deep voice echoing inside Pyralis's head. Oh? Is that the story, then? I do so love a good romance. Let us grant the boy's wish. I feel like a little test run towards something I've never done before.

Pyralis had not listened to the entire story. He faded in and out at times while Lai spoke, but didn't comprehend how it all fit together. "But, master..." he thought as time seemed to still. "How shall I alone, with my small force of powers you've granted, go about granting such a request? I do not have the required magical force or knowledge."

That is easily ammended. Pyralis was still for a moment while his commander took over the body in part, bending down to pick up the bracelet and brushing the ash from it. He slipped it into a pocket. "You destroyed the only thing you only cared about? What a tragic ending..." His tone, sickly over-emphasized, followed behind an almost entertained grin. "I love tragic endings. Because your tale entertained me briefly, I'll grant you your little wish. Come and stand just there."

He hesitated, but the boy did as Pyralis demanded, looking up expectantly. He swallowed a lump in his throat, one that brought the Wishmaster a gleeful glimmer in his eye. "Now what?"

"Prepare yourself. I suggest you count to three. It will make the pain easier to manage. Because this... is going to hurt you." His smile turned sadistic. "A lot." The boy stiffened his body, as if preparing to absorb a sting. The Wishmaster chuckled, approaching him step by step, a light building in his fingers held behind his back, swirling with purple and black. "Don't worry... it will all be over soon, and you can go back to your poor, unfortunate existence. Now start counting... three!" He hurled his hand forward, his hand phasing through the demon's forehead completely.

Lai immediately went through violent waves of convulsing, trickles of blood coming steadily from his lips and his eyes nearly rolling back into his head.

He walked at a steady pace towards the only light in the darkness that was the prince's mind, pausing. Waving a still-glowing hand over the hue of soft white and blue colors, he shifted the memories to that of a book. So... these are the boy's memories. Like many, I suppose. Some good, others not. Let's weed out the good. Describing the ability of searching through a person's brain is a tad difficult to explain, but if it had to be in words a human could understand, Pyralis would say it looked somewhat like a script, which is how he often chose to represent thoughts. Memories were like words, to be taken out, put in, even rearranged, but that was rather dangerous. Now... what did he ask again? Oh yes. This girl... Hallie was her name. Let's get all those nasty memories swept clean. He dug a hand into the essence of the past, sifting through while the smug grin remained on his face.

When he removed his hand, clumps of the blue and white stuck to it like glue. Easy enough. He took both hands and cupped them together, releasing them to reveal a small, silver ring. I'll just keep these there, for now. Now, what else did he ask for? Oh, yes. Every thing about her as well, which means removing the blank pages, even if the words aren't there anymore. Hm. This could be done the easy way, or the hard way. The easy way is faster. He asked for it, he can deal with the pain. He lay a firm hand on the left side of the book and taking a page, or single memory in his right hand, he ripped.

Lai thudded to the ground, still convulsing, but now with blood coming from his nose as well as mouth, the steady streams turning to gurgles.

Well. That's... done... He ripped some more pages out, just for the fun of it, making sure none affected him, but only for the good memories. I wonder... He took a pen in one hand, formed from flame, and began to write in searing black ink upon the next available blank page. Let's make him my ally. Yes, I helped him just as he asked. I'll leave the rest up to him... but... just in case... who knows what chaos is possible with this. Oh, it leaves me giddy. He ripped one last page from the memory, stuffing it in a pocket. Never know what writing a spare memory can do for you.

He almost left, but paused. Oh yes. Nearly forgot. I suppose I'll do the other thing he asked. He whispered some words, most unintelligable. Very nice wish, pain at the very mention of love. He smirked, his work finished. A flash and then Lai slumped, unconscious. Simple enough, my servant. Now then, return to what you were doing.

Pyralis blinked and shook his head briefly, affixing the new silver ring to his belt and sitting upon a nearby rock to wait.

[Kiriyama]

“Lai! Lai, where are you?!” Letho called, trudging through ash. She hugged herself, though she wasn’t cold. Rather, she hugged herself because this ash-laden landscape frightened her. Everything seemed so gloomy. The very atmosphere looked as if it could suck the joy out of anybody unfortunate enough to come through it.

The demoness shielded her eyes from the raining ash with a single hand, continuing to march onward. Wherever Lai had gone, that was where she needed to be, always his faithful servant. However, being a faithful servant didn’t make her immune to tripping over obstacles that had been hidden in the ash, as she found out when she tripped over a rock and fell face-first into the ash.

~

“Such foolish kids,” Hojo said, dipping a tea bag into his cup of piping hot water. He stared at the cup for a moment before turning his attention to his half-eaten ham sandwich. A small smile graced his face as he remembered that ham sandwiches were Lai’s favorite.

He grabbed the sandwich and took a hearty bite, laughing through the food in his mouth and thinking, “I wonder if Lailoken tastes like ham. That would be rather yummy. Would the king undo the curse on me if he knew what I’d do to his bastard child? He probably would!”

“That’s what you think,” a deep voice said. A dark-brown-skinned man with long dreadlocks appeared before Hojo, dressed in a pair of black jeans and a regal red cape. Atop the man’s head was a lopsided crown, two small horns keeping it from staying squarely on the king’s head.

“Ing Eliva!” Hojo shouted through his mouthful of sandwich. He choked it down and hurriedly knelt down before his king, saying, “I’m sorry I don’t have anything for you to eat. I wasn’t expecting such a surprise visit, my Lord.”

King Elijah took the remains of Hojo’s sandwich and swallowed them whole, to Hojo’s secret joy. Any day that some of his saliva could go into the king’s mouth was a good day in his book. Elijah then took Hojo’s tea, sniffed it, and tossed it over his shoulder with a dissatisfied grunt.

“I hear Lailoken’s gone off to see the Wishmaster,” Elijah said, crossing his arms. “What exactly is he wishing for? I thought that he would wish for something involving that wretched human women he killed, but then I realized that he could possibly wish for my demise.”

Hojo laughed. “He wouldn’t wish for your demise, my Leige. He’s too grief-stricken over that girl to remember his grudge against you, I assure you.”

“He better be,” Elijah warned, grabbing Hojo’s throat and hoisting him into the air, squeezing him menacingly. “You and I both know that death alone wouldn’t be enough to stop me from making your life even worse than I already have!”

With that, he disappeared, leaving Hojo to sputter and cough as he regained his breath.