that won't do.

“Hey, punkass. You call yourself Lucifer, but you’ve got no Pride under your sleeves. Can’t you trust that your Master can handle himself?” Well, in actuality, she couldn’t trust Leon either, but so far he had survived greater nightmares compared to this so she was not in the position to argue at all. She couldn’t believe that they have the gull to give them suspicious eyes when they’ve approached them for the sake of stopping him for being an idiot and approaching the Banshees before it was too late.

“Trust and Pride do not always go hand in hand. You should know that. I do trust my Master to fend for himself to an extent, but you have not heard his thoughts as I have. Perhaps he will grow here and prove me wrong, but even so, I understand why I am his demon and he is my Master, so do not question my trust in him again. I. Am. Lucifer!” He angrily spat out the last three words, and if not for Leon stepping in between, he would have continued. Questioning his existence like that right in front of his Master—the nerve! She of all the demons ought to know how that would feel to him. It was as if he’d been slapped in the face. 

“Lucifer…calm down. The banshees are more important right now.” A hushed, telepathic ‘And thanks…I think.’ was silently added.

His anger slowly fading, the demon looked over at his Master and sighed, nodding his head to show his acknowledgement. 

Nick, for his part, had been taken aback by the argument between the demons and chose to stay a few steps away, just in case it turned into a physical fight. Thankfully, Leon stepping in took care of that problem, but now they had a much bigger problem to deal with. The arguing and tension in the air seemed to have attracted the the banshees and brought them closer—or perhaps time was simply not on their side. Their screams were louder than ever, and he quickly reached up his free hand to cover his left ear. Up until now, he hadn’t known what they looked like, but as he stared through the trees, a maiden dressed in all white emerged. In this situation, it could only be one thing. For a brief moment, he froze. 

Lucifer’s lips didn’t move, but he got the message to his Master all the same. ‘A banshee! Master, the salt! Throw it before she screams again!’

The banshee was right in front of him, and he was just close enough that he could make sure the salt Leon had given him made an impact. He pulled his arm back for the throw, and his fist shot forward, opening up just as the creature opened its mouth to scream. A little cloud of white granules exploded in the banshee’s face, and much to his relief, she was gone without a trace; vanished. “I think…we need to find that salt now. Let’s go.”

He considered the suggestion of having his demon search for them, and it sounded like it would make things easier, but he didn’t understand how he and the other man would be any safer out in the open without their demons beside them. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked over at his companion. “Are you sure about this? Telling them to search is one thing, but how will splitting up from our demons do either of us any good?” He was starting to wonder if he was right to be wary of the man, especially since it was obvious who would win between the two of them if they fought.

Lucifer seemed to be in agreement.

"Hey, punkass. You call yourself Lucifer, but you've got no Pride under your sleeves. Can't you trust that your Master can handle himself?" Well, in actuality, she couldn't trust Leon either, but so far he had survived greater nightmares compared to this so she was not in the position to argue at all. She couldn't believe that they have the gull to give them suspicious eyes when they've approached them for the sake of stopping him for being an idiot and approaching the Banshees before it was too late.

Holding out his hand, he accepted the salt and focused on what his new companion was saying instead. He needed to focus on dealing with the banshees, not dwelling on the past of a life that he wasn’t living anymore. His fist curled up tightly over the granules of salt in his hand, and nodded his head in agreement. He didn’t exactly trust the guy yet, but cooperation seemed like his best shot at survival. “If salt will really get rid of those things, that sounds like a plan, but where are we supposed to find more?”

"Those are inns... you'll find a bunch of salt inside if you search hard enough." Taking a glance at the other's Demon, he suggested something. "I'd rather you tell him to search. It'd be safer if you're here with us. I can get Lucifer to accompany him."

Except the Demon of Pride didn't look like she could agree with that.

The sinking feeling in his stomach hit him like a ton of bricks. How had he not realized it sooner? He didn’t have his gun, nor his scissors! Shit! If those screams meant trouble, he was as good as dead. The wailing sounds drew nearer, and to his horror, he recognized a voice among them. That was Charlie’s voice! That was his boss’s voice; it had to be! His gut reminded him of his boss’ death, but then again, he was dead too. He owed that man his life, and it sickened him that Charlie could be in danger, or maybe in pain—worse yet, both—and he didn’t have a means to help. He had to do something. He couldn’t keep running away; not now. “Lucifer! Help me out! Tell me what’s going on!”

He yelled for his demon over the nearby cries, and his personal representation of Pride materialized beside him, placing hands over his ears and speaking into his thoughts. “They are banshees, Master. Your boss is not among them. That is a trick to lure you to them, and they will kill you if they find you.”

“But…Charlie…” His voice cracked, and he would have shaken his head if not for the hands on either side of it. He wanted to believe what Lucifer was saying and ignore the screams, but he just couldn’t. The cries sounded too real; hit too close to home. Tearing away from Lucifer, he blindly ran towards the screaming—and straight into someone else. The impact caused him to stumble and reel back, and he put a hand to his shoulder, rubbing a sore spot. “Oof! Ouch…dammit.”

If anything, Leon prevented the others from picking up the silver combs. It would lead to their own downfall, and the Banshees leaving them to scatter about was a way to lure people. Perhaps they were screaming about the curious' death, those fools who would be naive enough to surrender to that kind of thrill. When his Lucifer had found a man forcing his way to the nearby Banshee, she had immediately called her Master, and the pair did not waste a second to get near as quick as the time would let them. Instead of arriving nicely however, the man bumped into his masculine chest. What a good first impression to be had.

"I'm not sure who you're looking for but..." Leon could see... in the eyes of the other, even without him having to ask or for the presumably younger to tell, he was about to get near those things, weren't he? "They're out to kill all of us. Use these salt, or help me find more so we can get rid of them."

And as the blonde handed a few pinches on the palm of his new companion, Lucifer was eyeing something... or more like someone.

And right on cue, it seemed there were more of these bitches left for Leviathan to launch her salt at. She had every right mind to let her sister throw the salt, but now she knew it worked, she zoomed past the others to get a look in, before they decided to feast on them all after all their efforts. Good lord, poor Lucifer having to deal with this man more concerned with futile emotions than death itself.

Meanwhile, Bethany tried to gain her bearings on what had just happened. It was as though all of a sudden that Leon had knelt down next to her, startling her in the process, jumbling her thoughts about her going to touch the comb, and her initial fear of being startled in the first place. In a panicked state, the only thing that left Bethany’s mouth was a simple,

    “No!”

And with a flail of her arms, somehow, all too harshly, much to her own surprise, had accidentally smacked the male round the face with a clenched fist. Of course, she hadn’t meant to knock him down with a punch but here he was, and there she was.

*SMACK*

Her Master was already stone cold on the ground. While that evidently wasn't a strong blow to render him dead, that did knock him unconscious.

This woman was dangerous. "Well, shit..." What was Lucifer supposed to do? Kill this bitch for what she did? But they were temporarily at arms and that was an accident, obviously.

"Ooooooh," furrowing her brow, the eldest Demon shook her head. "Guy deserved it for being dumb for a moment, I suppose."

Well, if it worked at least she’d get the attention and praise for being a hero.

And that’s exactly what she needed to be right now.

Bethany had continued to run the distance. She hoped Leon was faring okay and the other two had found the salt they needed, as she began to tire. Legs giving way, Bethany slipped over, falling to her hands and knees with a yelp. Just as she’d gone to gain her bearings once more, the monsters were too close for her own comfort. A scream left her as the beasts went to close their distance, however, everything was cut short by a relieving noise.

Oh, well... shit. Who thought that shitass rumor actually worked? It was about time to find where her Master went and speaking of... is the one rushing towards the ignorant woman her Master? But he looked so lost and so disconnected with what's going on that it looks like he doesn't know that there's a bunch of monsters running just behind him. What just fucking happened here? He just left to get the plan going and then he comes back with this bullshit? Lucifer loves her owner, she can swear that on all of Leviathan's saltiness, but damn...

     "Maker, give me strength. Come on, I’ve fought darkspawn before, how can these be any worse.“ She spoke to herself and didn’t turn around, she let herself continue running, the sounds of the monsters from behind her beginning to try and weave around their plan. She could only hope that Leon would be okay. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself had the other fallen due to her slipping up or worse.

However, on the other hand, Leviathan huffed in defeat. She knew that her sister wouldn’t let up until she began following, and honestly if this had her master’s life on the line, then she’d have to oblige. Though she’d expect some kind of respect in return, otherwise she might just have to throw her and Leon to the flames. But right now, as far as Bethany was involved, she’d listen. But for that reason alone. Hovering beside her sister, she gave an exaggerated gesture with her arm for the other to lead on. Though it stuck in her throat to say it, she did speak up.

On the other hand, Lucifer grabbed Leviathan by her hair and zoomed quickly at the nearby inn. It was deserted, no signs of early activity were found but the lights of the inn were kept open. However, as the pair took an inner inspection, the furniture lying about was destroyed and torrents of silver comb were on the wooden floor. The Demon of Pride was smart enough to not allow her feet touch the ground and float. Hopefully, her sister was not that dumb.

Slithering towards the kitchen, after tasting several pots and more often getting pepper, Lucifer finally found enough salt to use. While it was not enough to par with Leviathan's saltiness, they could only assume that it would keep them safe until dawn.

      “Excuse me, but the only salty one here is you, you sour son of a-” But just as she was about to start something a little stronger than the monsters at hand, she was cut off by the sound of Leon stopping Lucifer from speaking any more. A subtle eyebrow waggle and smug smirk pulled at the corners of Leviathan’s lips as she watched her sister fall into silence. Good, that was the way it should be. Gliding off in another direction, she gestured for Lucifer to follow her in order to go and look for the salt, leaving Bethany and Leon to formulate their own plans. Oh, she’d find a way to annoy her sister and still work alongside her to protect her master. Oh, and Leon, if she had to.

Meanwhile, Bethany took in the plan nodding to Leon that she’d understood what needed to be done. She took one glance over her shoulder, before piping up once again,

He couldn't help but look back anyway, wondering if it's really a good idea to leave her alone and let her run by herself. Not having her Demon around rendered both of them vulnerable to the batch of Banshees. None of them were safe, not even him who was experienced in scenarios like this was an exception. Still, there would be no point in hesitating and Leon immediately commenced his tracks, the soles of his shoes designing evidence of his leave.

      “Give her a minute, someone’s obviously not used to being on the front lines. But salt you say…” She paused, a finger poised to her lips as she tapped it in deep thought, thinking quickly before the monsters decided to double in numbers, ideas began to click in her mind at rapid paces, nothing seeming to be of any use. They couldn’t hold these monsters off, not if they were as ill effective as this, but perhaps…

And that was when Bethany spoke up.

"Huh? And why would you order me, Lucifer, to do such a thing? My sister has enough salt in her body. Why can't we just sacrifice my little sibling? If you were waiting for my permission, I approve." As such, the prideful Demon of Pride glanced the pair with her selfish and independent behavior, wanting to help her Master by herself without having to cooperate with two ugly chicks. Well, the Bethany girl was quite a catch, but her being weak-willed immediately listed her under Lucifer's list of bitches to avoid.

       "Bethany, this way!“ Leviathan called, just as the mage’s train of thought decided to derail. The screaming was closer, the monsters drawing nearer, a yelp escaping her mouth as she dived to the sound of her own demon’s voice. Shifting her gaze once she gained her bearings, Bethany looked up to make sure Leon was still holding up okay. With the aid from Leviathan, the young mage dusted her robes down from the slight tumble she took, heaving an exasperated sigh as she did so.

      ”There’s no end to them. Leon, are you okay?“ She spoke, scanning the crowds of banshee that grew near. In a futile attempt to rid the crowds, nearing the other, without the aid of her abilities, she threw a fist to the monster, knocking one of them back with such force, it surprised even herself. Turning to Leviathan with a hopeful expression, she yearned for answers.

How could he forget Ada's voice?

Giving up at the futility of his attempt, he allowed his arms to fall on his side and he gestured to the left to glance over the other pair, seemingly confused at when the hell did they get near him so quick without him realizing. It must have been from the busyness of the atmosphere, muffled noises preventing subtle sounds of footsteps from being heard. The island, though evidently had been a odd one lately with all its shifting, had been strangely more worrisome tonight. Tonight, but wasn’t it always nighttime in this Hell?

"I'm fine... Bethany, behind you!"