This is why we never trust a stranger((Akee))

[Liam]

The night time air was cool, well it probably would have been cool to a regular human, the darkly dressed man thought as he walked in amongst isles of worn carved concrete tombstones, all marking years of weakness, years of believing the unevidatble would never happen to the pour pathetic souls who met their end, probably still thinking that this could never happen to them, death would never come and wrap his uncaring arms around them and pull them away to where those idiotic creatures that called themselves humans, thought they would go to a better place, a happy place where they would live out their life's dream.


Liam's face contorted into a disgusted look, in his lifetime he found the little ant farm which roamed this little planet were all the same, they would travel out of their mother's womb, grow up, go to school where they thought they would learn about life and it's useless mechanics, then afterwards go to work and become slaves to jobs they hate, have their own children, and walk them through the same boaring path of life that they went through, all of them in the end useless, and all of them oblivious to the real wonders that they could not see. This was a discomforting though, that he, a demon, one with the blood of true greatness, one of who caused those same pathetic ants true terror, could see the wonders of the world, when those who lived in it couldn't.

How many lives had he taken, he had lost count after the first one, her terrifying scream had lived with him for centuries, her fear giving him more power. It had been his first kill, he had admittingly loved her, or at least tried to when he had a moment of rebellious nature. He could still feel the warmth of her silky smooth skin pressed hard, naked against him, and the smell of honey due which radiated from the scent of her hair. For a woman of her time she had taken care of herself well, her father was a soldier, and she had the finest clothes made of silk and lace.

In the end though, she had done, or said, something terribally stupid as they all did, he had lost his temper and killed her. He had sucked the life out of her just like his father had with his and Roman's mother. It had been his first kill, and after the thousands that died afterwards, it had been the only one he ever truly regretted.

Liam shoved his hands in the pocket of the long black trench as he continued his steady walking motion. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts, to uncaring of the world around him to really notice anything of if anyone else was there.

[Akeelah]

It had been too long since Akeelah last came to this place, so long that she couldn’t remember the last time that she had come to the graveyard. The girl had never liked this place; the aura of death consumed this cold and stale place. It made her feel uneasy made her feel sad. Death. Death was perhaps the most frightening thing in life. It was a fate that no one could escape, not even demons whose lifespan could far outlast a human’s unless someone interfered. In the end death took everyone away, some just sooner than others. Most people tried not to think of it, forcing themselves to focus on their meaningless chores and tasks so they would not think of the day their life would end. Some chose to think positively, focusing on the good things in life and ignored the darker truth of the world around them, and some people focus purely on the here and now instead of the future ahead of them.

Akeelah was no exception. She had always been the type that tried to focus on the here and now, focusing all her thoughts on her training, hunting, becoming stronger rather than her future. But she could never forget her past; she could never forget the events that led her down her current path. The horrors that brought her to this place now. It was even harder to forget in this place, the memories were already flooding her mind even before she reached them. Akeelah kept a slow and steady pace, her footsteps deadly silent despite her heavy mood out of habit. Or maybe it was because she was afraid, afraid that something might jump out and end her life here, making her just another body amongst the graves of those who had already passed. A hunter was still mortal after all, any fought they got into could be their last, could be her last. Akeelah didn’t want to die. Not while her goal had not been fulfilled.

Akeelah kept moving, her feet moving of their own accord to the place where they laid. It had been so long since she last came here but she still knew her way around, even in the dead of night. She could still remember that night too, the terror, the screaming, the pain. It was all too familiar. She stopped moving, gave a small sad smile as she looked down at her family’s graves. She really missed them; always had she couldn’t stop thinking about them. But seeing them here always made the feeling of loneliness much stronger then it was in her day to day life. It made her want to cry but she couldn’t bring herself to do that anymore. Tears could never bring them back. She was a big girl now, she had to hold onto that pain and use it to reach her goal.

“I still can’t find him.” She said sadly as she crouched down, getting a good look at her family’s headstones. She wondered if somehow, someway they could still hear her. Akeelah did not know what happened to those who died. Some people said that the souls of the good went to a better place. She didn’t know if that was true, maybe they didn’t go anywhere the living couldn’t truly know the answer to that. She liked to believe sometimes though that they did. It helped ease the pain a little to think that her family was in a better place and watching over her. Would her father be proud to see the woman she had become? She hoped so, but she had a long way to go before he could truly be proud of her. There was still a lot to do. She was still looking for the creature that killed them but she still had no leads. She had nothing to go on besides his face, no name, no trace no matter where she looked. “But I am not going to give up. I am going keep looking and make him pay, I swear it.” One day she would find him, no matter what it took she was going to find him and make him pay. His death would not bring them back but she could not let that monster walk free without suffering the consequences of his actions. The question was if she did find him would she be ready to face him? Akeelah wasn’t the weak little human girl that he had met back then, she had become a strong and capable hunter but she still had a ways to go before she was confident enough to take on anything that stood in her way. She wanted revenge but she knew better than to take on something too big for her to handle. But could she control herself when she did meet him again?

The sound of footsteps caught her attention, it cut through the silence of the graveyard. “Who’s there?” she called out. Her hand instinctively moved down to her ankle to the dagger hidden underneath her pant leg just in case. Not many people wandered into the graveyard at the dead of night unless they were strong enough to handle their own or looking for trouble. She wasn’t about to let some punk catch her by surprise while she was paying her family a visit.

[Liam]

Intoxicated by the night time air Liam continued his walk through the beaten and worn path through the graveyard, his thoughts of his past dazed him. He was feeling slightly weary, he needed a diversion to free his mind from the chains which linked him to his past, the sound of the woman's voice did this. " Who's there?" the question had lingered to his ear, it froze him to the spot, he would even go so far as to say it surprised him that there was even another soul who was daring enough to venture out into the middle of the graveyard in the cloak of night.

Liam straightened his stance and turned around, facing the direction that the voice came from. He tried to focus on her scent, a task made difficult due to the mingling scents of death, decay, and the nature which surrounded him. But at last he managed to catch the smell of the human and followed the trail back, keeping himself covered by the night so that she wouldn't see him as he squinted through the small amount of light the night time moon, and stars had provided.

He was pleased to see the small framed, darkened skin girl there, all alone. His lips pulled up into a smile and he wasn't sure if it was best to approach her there just yet as from what his eyes could see for the feeling he got from her was that she was not one to take lightly, everything from her stance, to the look that seemed calm, cool, and collective that radiated from her eyes, told Liam that this one may just know how to handle herself, if he did reveal himself to her, he would need to approach cautiously.

Liam looked around, and took a deep breath, he knew he had to force himself to be charming, something he detested, charming, it seemed to be the world's biggest fake of personality, but for some reason the humans used it with each other, they appriciated being charmed by those around them, so he put on the most sincerest charming smile as he could managed and walked out, stepping in front of the girl casually. " Hi." He said now standing in front of her.

[Akeelah]

Silence. The sound of footsteps abruptly stopped, there was no answer not even an attack. That wasn’t enough for Akeelah to lower her guard. Akeelah rose back up onto her feet drawing her blade carefully so the light of the moon would not reveal it. Whatever it was that she heard she did not want it to know she was armed until she could determine if it was a threat. It could easily be some harmless human or small animal that she heard but knowing her luck it was anything but normal. There was no telling what it was yet but there was no denying that something was there. She heard it, instincts told her that she was right and she knew better then to doubt her instincts. Judging from the sound whatever it was was not too far away either, it wouldn’t be long till it revealed itself.

Akeelah stood her ground and scanned the area carefully but did not speak again. No need to reveal herself again. A minute passed by and she debated moving and searching it out for herself. In the end there was no need for that, out of the darkness a lone figure emerged, a male. She studied him for a second he looked vaguely familiar but it was hard to tell in this light. When he came close enough for her to get a better view her eyes went wide with shock. It couldn’t be him, it just couldn’t be him! But the resemblance was remarkable. She never forgot that bastard’s face; it had been burned into her memory the night her family was killed. She had relived that moment every waking moment in her life, it was impossible for her to make such a mistake. Akeelah took an involuntary step back as the shock hit her. She just couldn’t believe it, all these years she had been searching for him and came up empty handed. Every single night since then she had been looking for clues, who he was, where he was and she could not even get a hold of his name. And now here he was right in front of her, smiling at her as if he was harmless. Wandering the graveyard where her family lay, the place that he put them in.

Shock quickly turned to anger; a low growl escaped her lips her eyes filled with rage as she glared at him. How dare he come to their resting place like this and violate her memories of those she once loved with his presence. Akeelah moved without thinking and charged towards him, quickly closing the gap between them Akeelah drew her dagger out and in one swift motion she struck. Aiming to stab him inbetween his ribs. Whether her first blow struck or not and if the demon did not stop her she would strike again, this time aiming to plunge her weapon into his stomach, twisting the blade into the vulnerable flesh if she managed to succeed in her attack. Anger clouded her judgment. She couldn’t think beyond her rage, all she wanted was to hurt him, to carve out that bastard’s heart and force feed it back to him.

[Liam]

An awkward moment of silence passed by as Liam walked into the clearing standing in front of the girl. She hadn't responded to his greeting, which was odd because he was sure that humans who were spoken too, always spoke back. He eyed her, there was something oddly familiar about her, but then again when you've been around for hundreds of years every human seemed to hold resemblence to each other so he brushed this feeling of deja vu off.

What he couldn't shake off however was the look in her eyes as she looked at him, it was a mixture of fear and recognition. She slightly resembled a dear caught in a hunters trap. Liam looked at her in confusion, now, judging by her reaction to him, he was sure he had come across her before, but wasn't entirely sure where or when.

The girl took a careful step backwards, she was truly nervous. He himself took a step forward, he was going to ask her if she was o.k. before there was a sudden blaze in her eyes and she let out a low growl, and then the small girl suddenly revealed a weapon and dodged forward, looking to kill so it seemed. With his feet planted on the ground, Liam caught the girl by the wrists, he held her there for a moment and then gently shoved her backwards. " That's not very nice." He said with a playful smirk on his face.

[Akeelah]

The demon moved fast enough to save himself from her assault. He caught her wrists before she could land her first strike, effectively stopping her from being able to strike again. She growled again in frustration. That had been expected, she wasn’t expecting him to be so fast, that was going to be a problem later on. If she couldn’t land a hit then how was she going to beat him? Strength was not her strong suit, never had been and probably never will given her small stature. That’s why she trained herself for speed and endurance to make up for what she lacked in physical power. Most of her fights came down to just how fast she could finish her opponents off, if she lost that edge here then she was screwed. Get a hold of yourself you idiot, now is not the time to be thinking about that! This fight was not over yet. It was far from being over. So what if he was fast she would still take him down, she just had to be more careful, if she can get a hold of herself and be more careful about her movements she could still beat him.

Luckily for her he never took the opportunity he had to strike back, instead he pushed her away, that smirk of his mocking her. “Neither was what you did to my family you bastard.” She retorted, glaring daggers into him. Did he even remember her? She wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t she was nothing more than a child the night he showed up in her house. If he didn’t she would have to spark his memory. It didn’t feel right to just end his life without him knowing why she was killing him. She wanted to make him suffer for what he had done. Keeping her eye on the man Akeelah replaced her current weapon with the one that she on the sheath behind her back.

It was a blade that she rarely used in a fight and for good reason. It was the only thing of value she had. Before her father’s death it was his main weapon and now it was the only thing from her family that she had left. This blade and the vow she made to destroy the bastard who slaughtered them with it. Akeelah got back into a fighting stance, the cool black steel catching the dim light of the moon in her grip. “Does the name James Thana ring a bell?” She wouldn’t strike just yet, she wanted to see if this demon remembered her or not. That and she needed time to come up with a plan. She could not risk jumping in without thinking again, she would not be so fortunate to just get pushed aside again.

[Liam]

Liam stood, taken aback as they stood there staring into each other's eyes. The look she wore was one of utter discust, like he was something foul crawling along the earth's green. Liam was able to feel the heat of her body rise as she seemed to be getting more and more angry.

She had responded to his previous statement by mentioning something he had done to her family, she had called him a bastard, only telling Liam the obvious; This must have been a past victim maybe? Or a family member. Liam looked around him and went the the later of the two choices standing before him. This was just great, and not what he needed right now- another pissed off victim trying to seek revenge.

He tried the polite thing again, but it was obvious he was not getting anywher with it, for the girl was back into fighting mode. He watched as she traded in her dagger for a much larger blade and he just stood there eyeing it, he wasn't planning on fighting but he wouldn't miss the oppurtunity for a work out. As he stood captivated by the blade, she mentioned a name. Someone named James Thana. She wanted to know if he recognized it. Liam thought for a moment, his brow raised as he cupped his chin with his hand and thought for a moment. He smiled at her, " Can't say I recognize it." He said aloud, however his thougts were beginning to jog along the more he looked at the girl.

[Akeelah]

Her whole body shook in anger. He was mocking her by acting some calm and cool like everything was some big joke to him. And that was probably how he saw it too. Demons were cruel beast that could not think of anything else beyond their own elf gratification. This bastard was no different, she never expected him to be but still it angered her that he could get any enjoyment from this. It made her want to strike at him again but she restrained from doing so. Not now, she still had to be careful about how she went in for the attack. This was a once in a life time chance and she was not going to let that slip away by being too rash. Akeelah took a step forward, resisting the urge o just charge forward again. “Nine years ago you followed a demon hunter home.” Her mind was coming up with an attack plan, her gazed firmly locked on her target reading him for any signs of weakness, any visible openings that she could take advantage of. Her words probably meant nothing to him, it wouldn’t make him feel guilt for what he had done, he might not even remember what she was talking about but she didn’t care. She had been waiting for years for this moment to get her revenge and she damn well would no matter what he said or did. Speaking just gave her an outlet, a means of letting loose while she planned her next move.

“You broke into his home and slaughtered him in front of his wife and children.” Her anger rose as those painful memories flooded her mind. How could he just forget while she couldn’t? How many times had this monster done the same thing that he couldn’t remember who he harmed anymore? “Then one by one you started to pick the rest of them off. You killed my father, my mother, my brother and then left me for dead.”Her grip on her blade tightened. She could still hear her mother’s screams as that monster took her life. She could still remember the look of terror on her brother’s face as he turned on them while that bastard forgot about it. She would make him remember what he had done to them even if she had to carve him up to do it. And she would enjoy every minute of it.

She went off on the attack again, moving forward once more with the intention of stabbing him in his gut…Or so it would seem, just as it looked like she was going for the attack she would turn quickly to get behind him and try to attack while his back was facing her. Whether she succeeded in dealing damage or not (Or if he didn’t grab her again.) she would step back before he could counter.

[Liam]

His eyes locked into her own, as she spoke of her traumatic child hood he was beginning to remember, the wheels of time slowly spinning in his mind showing him the scene so vividly he almost thought he had been there.

The demon hunter was on his way home, like she had recalled herself. He had been hunting him, him and the other demons in his and Roman's pack. Liam had strayed from the pack as he had come up with a plan. That plan was to revearse the tables, instead of the hunter following him, he would follow the hunter making him become the hunted instead.

He had followed him to a home, it reaked of humanity and he entered right after the hunter- James hadn't expected the quick attack he had pulled when he took the hunters own weapon and used it to on him.

Then the wife. He remembered hearing her blood curdling scream. It had filled the house like a sympony as he had given her the same fate as her husband, and then the children.....

It had definately been one of his more artistic kills, one which he was now remembering alot more clearly now. He looked into her eyes. " What are you complaining about?" He asked as she came at him with yet again another attack, which he quickly dodged. " You turned out fine." With this he flashed another smile at her. His gaze darkening.

[Akeelah]

Another strike, another miss why couldn’t shit hit him? Anger was boiling up far beyond the young girl’s ability to control it. She wanted to spill his blood so badly but she could not land a single hit, he was just too fast. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right she had been waiting for this moment for so long and now that it was finally here she couldn’t do anything. It was just like how it had been that night, like she was so weak and powerless that she couldn’t do anything. No…she could not let that happen again. She did not come this far only to lose to the one target that counted.

The demon’s words cut into her heart like a knife. Fine? She turned out fine?!”You bastard!” she hissed in rage. She lashed out at him instinctively, trying to slash at him. There was no real pattern or organization in her attack. Akeelah couldn’t think beyond the desire to just kill him. “You stole my family from me, you turned me into an orphan and you expect me to be fine with that?!” She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she attacked him. She had lost her home, lost the only people she had ever cared for, everything she had was gone and it was his fault. Because of him she had constant nightmares; she had struggled to keep moving just to kill him. She had to learn how to care for herself, training and become stronger just so she could end him and all of this she had to do on her own. She didn’t have anyone to help support her; she couldn’t get close to anyone because she was afraid what would happen to them if he came back again. She wanted his blood. She wanted to wipe that damn smile off his face. She wanted to make him suffer so badly, on way or another she was going to make him pay.

[Liam]

Liam stood there and started into the girl's eyes, they were full with a determination, one so strong to get her revenge on him, here and now, tonight in the home of the dead. The sadest thing was, Liam knew that there would be no way she would even stand up close to half the amount of power that he had. She would need a better weapon for it than that. But still, he had to admit, he was respecting her metheods, her speed made her hard to keep dodging from.

He could see the tears as she spoke about the loss of her family, as she resurrected the painful memories of her past, what did she expect, an apology? For him to just call out that he was sorry, but it was in his nature to kill, no he would not apologize to anyone, especially a human, even though she did have great potential to be so much more.

" Do you know what you problem is?" He called out to her as she lashed out at him angrily. " You carry this around with you." He told her meeting her eyes, " You're not going to beat me tonight, though you may try if you'd like, you won't because you carry too much around with you. If you're going to beat me, and believe me kiddo, it's a big if, you're going to need to be thinking with a clear head, something you don't have right now." He smiled again, somewhere deep down he knew that she knew he was right, but still if she were to attack him again he would let the mark hit, just to show her how useless her mortal weapons were against him.

[Akeelah]

Akeelah gritted her teeth in frustration as the demon spoken what was e expecting her to do give up? Too much was riding on this moment for her to just give up. She might never have another chance like this again. For too long she had been searching for this monster and came up with nothing. His words had fallen on deaf ears, she was far too angry to truly consider them. Even if she could she would deny them. She couldn’t let her resolve be shaken by doubt. She had come too damn far to throw it all away.

Akeelah continued her assault but still nothing was working. He was still too fast for her to land a hit yet. But that wouldn’t be a problem for long, she would see to that. She kept up the rhythm, slashing away just inches from his body and just as she was sure most of his attention was devoted to her swing then she would make her move. Her left leg would draw up in a low kick with the intention to knock his feet out from under him. If her plan went off without a hitch she would jump on top of him and straddle the demon before he could get away. “The only way that I’ll stop is when you’re dead.” She hissed vehemently and brought her blade down aiming directly for his cold unfeeling heart. It was a risky stunt to pull, one wrong move and she would be in trouble. If the timing was even slightly off then there was little she could do to stop him from overpowering her. But she didn’t have much options left and couldn’t think beyond just getting him to stop moving. If he either rolled out of the way on time or never fell she would have no choice but to pull back in case he tired to retaliate. It might not have worked but it would take a lot more than that to make her give up.

[Liam]

Liam looked coldly into the eyes of this foolish woman- child more like it to him, as he recieved the angry gaze from her eyes. The determination was not faltering, it was still there, his words hadn't even touched her mentally, something once again he felt a surge of respect to as the thrill of the oncoming fight touched him in ways he never thought he could possibly feel again.

He dodged every swing of the blade, he had to admit, she was quick, but there was flaws in her offense, she was to eager to swing, her want to kill him right then and there was consuming her, he could see it, even if to the naked eye no one else would see it.

This gave Liam an idea, her next move he allowed it to connect, he felt the kick taking him off of his feet and he fell on the ground with a hard thud. She was on top of him now and he let out a chuckle, " Wanted to get close did ya?" He asked her looking up at her. He was in no position to be cocky, and he knew it, but he just couldn't resist throwing a jab like what he had just done.

He looked up at her, he watched the blade in her hand as it plunged towards him, she was aiming for a kill, this oughta be fun. he thought, trying to keep a look of shock and fear in his face while he felt the piercing of the blade as it was locked in his chest. His hands pushed upwards towards her shoulders, and keeping a pained look in his eyes, he pushed her off of him and forced himself off to a standing position where he let off a pained groan.


" You.... Bitch." He panted, giving a small gasp between his words, " You...." His hands was on the end of the blade which was submerged into him, pulling it out he smiled, " Didn't do a damn thing."

Liam threw the blade aside, she had heart, but this was a battle that by the end of the night, she would lose and he could see that deep down she knew that, although she would not admit to it.

[Akeelah]

She felt a strong urge to punch him in the face for his not so subtle comment on their current position. Any other time in a less serious match she would have done just that but as it stood now a little teasing on his part couldn’t make her anymore angry than she already was. Akeelah plunged her knife through the demon’s chest without any difficulties much to her relief. The look of pain and terror on his face making her smile a little bit, this was it the bastard was going to die now and she could finally have some peace of mind. But things didn’t turn out as well as she thought they would. Just as Akeelah was going to twist the blade in his chest to completely destroy his heart his arms came up and pushed her off and made her lose her weapon. Akeelah had no other choice but to roll with it and quickly get back on her feet in a defensive position. (Albeit a bit clumsy of course)

For a moment she was confused by the act. It wasn’t uncommon for something that just took a killing blow to move but that was only when they were twitching in agony or were going through the usual death spasm. It was unusual for anything to try to fight back in some manner as it was taking its last breath. Not impossible but unusual none the less. Maybe she was over thinking that act?
Or maybe not… she thought as she saw him get back up onto his feet. He looked hurt but not dead but why? Akeelah was all but painfully aware that demons were strong creatures that were capable of healing a great deal faster than the average human but even they had some of the same basic weakness as humans. It was harder to kill them but a good shot to a vital organ or blow to the head normally did the trick. But it didn’t work this time and when his words and that devious smile pointed out that obvious fact to her only then did she realize the situation. Akeelah’s eyes went wide with shock and her whole body tensed up, he wasn’t even hurt, he shrugged the injury off as if it were nothing more than a paper cut. That was impossible, even if he was more powerful than the average demon it an injury like that should have done something. How could she possibly win against something that she couldn’t kill?

Pull yourself together girl he’s not invincible! she reasoned with herself. It made sense that she couldn’t just stab him once in a good spot and expect him to keel over and die just like that. He was a higher class demon form what she was used to fighting, someone who must have been around for awhile now. It would not be that easy to end it. The question remained now as to how she could do that. He could not die from a heart injury but surely he could regenerate his head if she lopped it off, nor could he regenerate any other limb she could rip off if she could get that far. If push came to shove she would rip him apart until he couldn’t heal anymore.

Another growl escaped her lips as she pulled out another blade, that determination returning as she readied herself for round two. This still wasn’t over yet, she would be damned if she was going to let this one thing stand in her way. All this time training was not going to go to waste. She charged forward, quickly closing the gap between them and went for a slash across his abdomen. Akeelah knew just how useless it was to try to cause him pain but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t slow him down eventually if she kept it up. With any luck she could do enough damage to make him suffer a decent amount of blood loss which would weaken him enough so she could deal some real damage. She just needed to last long enough to do so.

[Liam]

He had to admit, he was rather surprised when she had gotten to her feet and resumed her defensive fighting stance. This, to Liam was an act of heart, something Liam appriciated in his opponent, that and he rather liked ripping the hearts out of them, but in this case he thought he would like having her around for a while. Who knew, she may even make this world a little more interesting.

" Still didn't give up yet?" He asked, his resolve focused with his dark gaze, " Must not of liked my show back there huh?" He watched her, the eyes that stared back at him were still full of that same determination, they hadn't lost a hint of their spark since the beginning of their fight. In fact, he was stunned to see she was advancing at him again, slashing away with her dagger as she did so, the edge even cutting through his shirt and tearing some skin.


Liam looked down at the wound and then back up at her, he covered his hand over where the sharp end of the blade had dug at him. " This. was my favorite shirt." He exclaimed, the fire in his eyes lighting again, it had been a long time since he had come across anyone who was able to take him on like this, " And that actually kind of hurt." He chuckled, oh if only Roman could see his big brother now, he'd have a kick out of this. Liam thought as this time, he fed into the fight. Liam held his palm up into the air, This has to slow her down. he thought to himself as a fireball formed in his hands, one which he directed straight for the enemy. " Try that on for size honey."