Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
"♩ ♫ ♪ ♪ ♬ ♩♩"

Alina hummed as she strolled at the edge of the castle courtyard, the stone ramparts shielding her from the pounding rain outside. She wasn't sure what song it was, but it felt lonely, maybe she'd made it herself in her mind. There wasn't anyone in earshot to hear it anyways, so it didn't matter. She rubbed the lining of her hood with her hand, not at all bother by the cold. It really did feel lonely by herself in the vast and empty castle courtyard. Everyone else was inside doing their business, she could see the smoke from the fireplaces rising into the grey sky. Anja would probably scold her for being outside, something about getting sick, but from her memory, Anja was the only one that ever got sick from the cold. Besides, the castle interior was too stuffy anyways."

"♩ ♩ ♩"

She finished humming the song, her throat a bit sore from prolonged use. Maybe if she practiced enough, she could become singer! Then she could sing along with Anja when she played the guitar! That sounded fun.
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
"Hm...." Demais was busy doing what he does best. But he's so good at hiding it, that even I don't know what it is he does. Thankfully, he decides on his own account to show himself to Alina.

"Stop humming." He commands, as he glares down at her.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
“Hmm?”

Alina tilted her head as the man seemed to appear from nowhere. She didn’t jump like she usually would if someone just appeared like that, maybe he was just there all along.

“Why not? You don’t like it?”

Now that she spoke, her voice seemed different from her humming, sharper and younger. It wasn’t that she forced either voice, but they definitely weren’t the same.

“If you don’t like it, I could hum a different one! Here~”

She hummed a different tune, this one lighter in both pitch and spirit. The difference was minimal, but the second song sounded much more like her speaking voice. It held more innocence, like a newborn hatchling instead of an ancient drake.

"♫ ♬ ♩♩"
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
"Stop humming." He commanded again. And as he did, Demais immediately threw a dagger purposely aimed above Alina's head, eventually hitting and sticking to a wall. The normal eye wouldn't even be able to tell where Demais had pulled such a dagger out. "You're in the way."
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
“Eep!”

Alina ducked a full second after the dagger embedded itself into the wall behind her, quaking with terror. As she backed into the wall, she pulled Cookie out from under her coat and hugged him tightly, her eyes tearing up.

“Sorry...”

This man was super scary. Was humming not allowed here? If it wasn’t why didn’t he like humming? On the other side of the pillar, the pounded harder against the flagstones, like the beating of a thousand drums.
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
With the flick of the wrist, Demais had another dagger in his right hand. "You can stay as long as you don't hum." And he started taking steps toward Alina. "Let's make sure you can't hum."(edited)
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
With her back against the wall, Alina collapsed and cowered behind her knees, too terrified to even squeak. She hugged Cookie close to her, as if squeezing him harder would protect her. She shut her eyes and shook her head violently. What was he going to do to her? Was he going to slit her throat? She didn't know she wasn't allowed to hum.

Please no. Please Please Please! I promise I'll be a good girl just leave me alone.

She turned her head away and cowered behind Cookie, bracing herself for the impending pain.(edited)
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
Schling

There was a screech of the dagger being forced out of the wall. Demais then crouched down to Alina's level.

"Hey, look here, listen to me." Demais smiled. At first glance it might have seemed friendly, but anyone could tell the malicious intentions behind it. "I have ears everywhere. The next time I hear you humming, this is what will happen to your little doll." Just as abruptly as Demais smiled, there was no longer a single trace of such a smile on his face. The daggers he'd been holding were nowhere in sight now. There was only a shiny blade - the size of a thick finger - protruding from Demais's right sleeve. And without a moment's notice, Demais shoved it into his other arm. Or at least, that's what it looked like. What really happened was he slid the blade back into his right sleeve right as it approached his left arm, making it look like he stabbed himself.

"After you watch the doll get assassinated, you're next."
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
“Cookie...?”

Did he threaten to kill Cookie? Was he going to do it? Alina couldn’t imagine living without Cookie, she couldn’t let him do it. She had to protect Cookie!

The eyes of her stuffed animal began to glow, and the air suddenly turned ice cold.

“No...Hurting...COOKIE!”

In a flash of snow white light, Alina transformed into her dragon form, four times the size of her human form. She roared at her assailant, her icy breath crystallizing the moisture and the rain. She couldn’t let him touch Cookie. She had to protect by any means possible!
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
Demais was nowhere to be seen by the time Alina said "Hurting". At that moment, Demais managed to jump over and onto the rampart, fleeing across it as he was pelted by rain. He'd accomplished his objective for the night of finding out more about this strange girl Saltbeard had told him about. He knew there was no way an innocent little girl like this would join him in battle without some kind of power like what he saw before him. But in all his life of sailing, Demais had never seen a dragon before.

I thought she was one of those child assassins, born to kill. She'd strike in my underestimation of her. Looks like I was off. It'll be a good idea to remember the tune she was humming. Demais thought to himself, Maybe I could make this happen again. This could be a useful diversion.

But Demais was too careless, lightning from the storm lighted up Demais's figure for just a moment - enough time for Alina to spot him.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
"RAWRRRR...?"

Now that the scary guy was gone, Alina was confused as to what to do. In the distance, a strike of lightning illuminated the fleeing person. Still unsure of Cookie's safety, Alina prowled the courtyard for a few minutes before reverting to her normal form, soaked completely.
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
Demais then thought for a little bit more as he watched Alina, hoping he wouldn't be spotted. Saltbeard told me he's fond of that girl. He might not be too happy with what I did. Its too soon to lose the trust of him. I'll make sure that doesn't happen.

Once Alina transformed back, Demais descended right in front of her, asking, "Do you know a big man named Saltbeard?" Afterwards, he walked past her, towards underneath the rampart, with a confidence that seemed to signal to Alina to follow him.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
Alina jumped when the man returned, still clutching Cookie to her chest. She didn't trust him at all, but at least now that she had shown her dragon form the man wasn't as hostile.

Upon mentioning Saltbeard, Alina nodded meekly. Why did he know Saltbeard? Was he going to stab him too? She had to go warn him if he was!
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
Demais waited for anything more than a nod, but remembered he was the antagonizing a kid here; of course he'd have to do most of the talking.

"Do you like Saltbeard?"
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
"Y-y-y-you're not going to stab him right?!"

Alina stared with the most determined face she could make, doing her best to look imposing.
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
The sound of Demais's foot tapping joined the tapping sounds of the rain. He was getting impatient.

"Do you like Saltbeard?"
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
Alina nodded, perhaps a bit faster than she should have.

"That's why I don't want you to stab him!"
Admiral Shocking10/28/2018
"Nobody said anything about stabbing Saltbeard. But who knows, maybe he'll be the one doing the stabbing once he finds out what you really are. I heard you lived on the beach. We're pirates - Saltbeard and I. We've gone from coast to coast with your kind terrorizing our friends and family." Demais sighed, content with his lie so far.

"I take back what I said about assassinating you and your doll. Because I made a promise that one day, Saltbeard would get his revenge for the deaths of his whole family. But I won't tell Saltbeard if you obey my commands. You can keep on with your daily life being friends with Saltbeard, so long as you never speak of me, to me, nor get in my way."
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/28/2018
“Promise!”

With one hand to hold Cookie, she extended her other with her pinky extended.

“Pinky swear you won’t stab me, Cookie, or Saltbeard!”
October 30, 2018
Admiral Shocking10/30/2018
"And you won't tell anybody about what happened here today." Demais hooked what looked looked like a keychain onto Alina's pinky. Except it wasn't a keychain, but a smaller than average kunai.

"The moment one of us breaks this promise, the kunai pierces the offender's throat." Demais then held up his copy of the kunai on his pinky. A dreadful smile appears on his face, "Pinky swear."
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/30/2018
“Oooooah!”

Alina took the pokey thing and waved it around in the air.

“It’s a pokey thing! Cool! It’s ok scary guy, unlike Anja I’m super good at keeping promises!”

Except for bath related promises, but those didn’t count.
Admiral Shocking10/30/2018
"I mean it! Any words about our meeting here tonight will never come out of those lips of yours, so long as you value your life." Demais couldn't believe he was taking a kid like this seriously.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/30/2018
Alina nodded, and put on the most serious face she could think of.

“Ok!”
Admiral Shocking10/30/2018
"Good. Know that I'll be watching. Like I said, I have ears everywhere." Demais warned as he started walking away.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/30/2018
Unsure of what to do, Alina followed the person, no longer as scared as before.

“Do you stab a lot of people?”(edited)
Admiral Shocking10/30/2018
Demais was dumbfounded. Most people would take that statement as a goodbye - a dismissal. This was one ballsy kid.

"Look, I don't have any more time to waste on you, get lost."
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/30/2018
Alina looked up at him, her cheeks puffed with annoyance.

“Are you gonna go stab someone else?”
Admiral Shocking10/30/2018
"Do you want me to?" He asked as he pulled out a knife in each hand in one swift motion.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/30/2018
“If you do then I’m going to tell Saltbeard!”

The pinky promises only protected what happened before the promise, not after anyways.
October 31, 2018
Admiral Shocking10/31/2018
"You're pushing your luck kid, you'd break the promise then. I said you wouldn't speak of me, to me, nor get in my way. So far you've already broken two of those, I wouldn't suggest breaking all three of them." Demais tried walking away faster, He had just been threatening her, now she was threatening him?! Even for a kid, this is much too foolish and against common logical patterns of thinking.
Cyber, Empyrial Flufftician10/31/2018
Alina considered her options. She didn’t want to get stabbed, but she didn’t really want anyone else to get stabbed either. What if she did it in dragon form? Then no one could stab her!

Turning around, she sprinted the direction of Saltbeard’s room, not bothering to say anything more to the scary man.
Admiral Shocking10/31/2018
Demais sighed, "Where does she think she's going..." And continued walking off the direction he'd initially been going. That foolish drunkard should be over at that tavern again, I'm gonna need to ask something of him regarding this situation...