A Taste of Hell: Jeskura

Daoka stared at her -- probably -- and after a time of what was probably some shock, took her hand. Yeah, this wasn't exactly common behavior, and they both knew it.

"Don't be like that," Jes said, laughing. "You were nice to me, first."

Dao clicked a few times, quiet things, and she looked down. Almost looked like she was ashamed, but without eyes, it was damn hard to tell.

"K, well, I'm fed. I'm heading back to my den."

Dao's head shot up at the word 'den', before slowly lowering to look back down at their meal. Dao's meal, really, considering she'd jumped the wanderer, and killed him so damn fast Jes hadn't even heard it. That took some skill.

"What? That why you been down here for three days? No den?" Jes asked.

A shudder ran through the riiva's body before she nodded, clicking quietly. A sad sound.

"This... this isn't a good place to hide just cause you have no den. This mountain's going to kill you." Jes gestured at Dao's head and the gash on the back of it. "What, did you get into trouble with Diogo? Can't be seen around Gorzen?"

Again, Daoka sighed, and ripped off another chunk of the kill. They got the heart already, that's where the resonance was. Everywhere else was just scraps, with only little bits of resonance. Shit to feed to cannam. If she was willing to eat more of the human, other chunks of muscle and skin, just to get a sliver more resonance, than she was hungrier than Jes was.

"Ok, you're coming home with me."

Dao tilted her head as she looked up at Jes. Didn't need eyes to show confusion. So Jes just laughed, shrugged, and took her hand.

"I don't care what happened between you and Diogo. I have a score to settle with that sack of shit already." She shrugged again, and pulled Dao up to her hooves. "You can sleep a lot better there than down here. Fuck me, I just know some leerp is gonna come around and get into my brain, if I slept down here." Laughing, she pointed at her temple and pretended a leerp was worming its way into her skull through her ear.

Dao chuckled, and smiled. A big, happy smile, big enough to show her fangs. She had a cute smile, despite the sharpness of her chin and cheeks. Well, that was riivas for you, though this was the first one Jes had ever met that'd been generous. And damn it, that was like finding a forbidden fruit in a pile of shit stains like Diogo.

"Seriously though, fuck Diogo."

Dao's following smile and nod sealed it: the girl had bad history with the local fuckhead.

"I don't care if he's the bailiff, I'm gonna kill that sack of shit the moment I get the chance."

Dao gasped and clicked a bunch in panic.

"Don't gimme that. More than just me looking to off that bastard."

Dao let out a long sigh, nodded, and chirped a few times. Quietly, as if Diogo might be listening.

Jes stopped, and looked at the riiva closely. "You're afraid of him." Dao hiding didn't necessarily mean she was afraid of the bailiff. But her new friend's response did.

Any normal demon would deny being afraid of anything. Of course, self respecting demons got themselves killed because of that pride, all the fucking time. Smart demons knew how to admit fear. And Dao looked down as she nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

The riiva's head lifted, startled, and Jes had to yank her head back to avoid the horns. Big horns on them riiva demons.

"But he's just a devorjin. Dumb as all fuck. I'll drop a big rock on him or something."

That managed to earn a chuckling chirp from Dao, but her head lowered a moment later. Yeah, she knew the problem with Jes's plan. Not only would dropping a giant rock on a devorjin probably not kill them, Diogo was just a little smarter than your average devorjin. He might actually look up.

"Come on, let's get out of here."

The walk back to the entrance was infinitely less scary with a friend. Eyeless demons handled the dark a lot better, and Daoka took lead, guiding Jes through and between stalagmites, up over the rocky wall of the pit, and back up to the outer edge that led to the tunnel.

"So, Dao, how--" Even with Dao in lead, there wasn't any way the hoofed demon could avoid every spiky, nasty thing on the ground. So naturally, Jes tripped, the smooth side of her talons catching some vine. "Shit!" Down she went, onto a whole fucking bunch of stone and darkness. She managed to land on her hands at least, but some bloodgrip got her along the wrists and palms, and she growled with pain. "Fuck."

Dao turned and squatted down in front of her, head tilted to the side; seemed to be her 'are you ok?' body posture. Slowly, she helped Jes back to her feet, and took a moment to gently run her fingertips along Jes's skin, careful with her claws. That was a lot more touching than Jes expected from the riiva, but she didn't stop her. Eyeless demons could feel things other demons couldn't. Besides, she was hot.

"I'm fine I'm fine. Just, this place is such a pain in the ass without light. And the walls, all the fucking bloodgrip, big problem if I get it in the wings." If they had some bushfire, it'd be easy enough to make a torch, but she didn't see any bushes. "No wonder gorgala avoid these caves. One false step and I'm grounded for days." And getting around Hell wouldn't be easy without her wings.

Dao chirped happily, took Jes's less injured hand, and got walking. Jes blinked down at the riiva, her three-fingers-one-thumb clawed grip, and how she guided Jes forward like she was guiding a hatchling. It was God damn adorable, except, Jes was on the adorable side of action, and she wasn't used to that. She was badass, a fighter. She had three vratorin skull trophies dangling off her hip! She was not used to someone actually going out of their way to help her.

Felt nice, honestly, and Jes smiled down at Dao's hand. It also worked following her, since Dao didn't have a tail or wings or anything to get in Jes's way. If there'd been more light than just a few amber veins, and if Dao hadn't been wearing metal armor like Jes, it'd have been a great opportunity to check out her ass, too. Riiva demons always had great asses, jumping around like they did.

The walk through the tunnel with all the remnants sucked. Jes stayed low. Dao stayed super low, with how big her horns were. The crying faces, the swiping hands, the moans and groans, the thousands of fingers, it sent a chill through Jes's body just as bad as the first time.

"Valzanal must have been a really bad bitch, to earn this," Jes said, gesturing around them at the remnants. She had to speak up, to get over the sounds of the damned.

Dao chirped, also loud enough to punch over the moans surrounding them.

"Yeah, horrible." She ducked under one remnant who hung low from the ceiling. Another, she smacked with her tail, getting the fucker across the face. Better that than having the disgusting thing grab her. "I don't think I've seen you around Gorzen Mountains. You from the Crag?" Most riiva were.

Daoka nodded, and chirped a few times. Soft, sad clicks.

"Shit went down in Gazra Crag with Tacitus?"

More clicks, sad and weak.

"That sucks. Sorry to hear that. I've never met Tacitus, but from the few times I've flown by the Crag, he seems to run things pretty tight, and he's a sneaky fucker. Saw more than a few demons skewered." Not like it was only remnants getting tortured out there. Bailiffs did love to make examples of demons that stepped out of line. Caught stealing from a bailiff? Skewered on a big pyke of meera, right up the cunt or ass. Caught messing with the bailiff's enforcers? Skewered. Caught getting a piece of ass from the bailiff's favorite betrayers, fucking or eating? Skewered. Caught taking any fruit from any forbidden tree the bailiff might have? Skewered.

Doaka shivered, clicked several times, quietly, and shook her head as she stepped out of the tunnel of remnants. Out here with more amber veins, it was easy to see Dao was scared.

"Well, I'll help you get set up here in Gorzen. Until you are, you can stay at my place. Safe there, hidden." And it had a treat waiting for them, if they were lucky.

Dao looked back at her, smile growing, and she nodded as they stepped into the subtle light of the hole above. Night had come. The red clouds above lost their light, the burning eye of the vortex shut tight, and the amber veins in the cave dimmed to a gentle glow. But it was still brighter than the pit they'd just come from. Not bright enough she felt comfortable climbing up through a deep hole with shit loads of bloodgrip everywhere, though.

"Uh, maybe we should wait till morning? I'm gonna get my wings all cut up climbing in the dark."

Dao let go of her hand, tilted her head to face up into the hole above, and jumped, grabbing some rock and bloodgrip without issue. With a few happy chirps, she scrapped her hooves against nearby vines, and the dark hooves cracked them off. Crack crack crack. They fell like rain, and Jes smiled as she watched them bounce and roll along the cave floor. Daoka used her huge horns too, grinding them against some vines, hooking them, getting the back sides of the vines smooth before she moved onto the next one.

This girl was too nice. Maybe she'd be happier in the Geeraz Tombs? She was way too good for the likes of Gazra Crag, or Gorzen Mountains. Or Death's Grip, for that matter. Maybe she'd be happier in Grave Valley? Fuck, that was so far away, but Jes had heard Azailia and her bailiffs weren't such hard asses, like Zelandariel and Death's Grip's bailiffs were.

Leaving Death's Grip? Ha. Fat fucking chance. The trip would kill them both.

Jeskura tightened her wings to her back and shoulders, nice and snug, and once Daoka created the room, she jumped up. She might not have had Dao's legs, but that didn't mean she couldn't jump a good ten feet. Claws found vine, and she winced as she prepared for pain. No pain. Dao had done a damn good job.

It took them almost an hour to climb a hole Jes had originally come down through, slowly, in twenty minutes. Most of the time was spent waiting for Dao to clear a climbing path for Jes, but she worked fast, and Jes couldn't help but chat while Dao worked. Clickers like Dao weren't usually interesting to talk to, but this one was strangely fun, and good at getting a lot across with only pitch changes.

By the time they got to the top, they were both laughing. And that was strange. Christ, when was the last time Jes laughed when on a hunt? Two years? They--

A roar boomed through the night air as Jes pulled herself up, and hopped out the final few feet of the hole. The surface of Thorn Mountain was sloped, and damn high, high enough Jes could see much of Death's Grip below her. In the distance, there was the Geeraz Tombs, giant structures of spiked metal and twisted, carved stone. Beside that, the Gazra Crag, a giant, steep cliff, with stones so sharp they were practically weapons, and a ravine below, stretching for a hundred miles. Where they connected, the spire stood, nearly touching the burning clouds above.

And in front of all that, charging up Thorn Mountain maybe a hundred feet away, was a fucking tregeera.

Tregeeras stood eight feet tall, when they walked on their hind feet. Usually they went on all fours, like this one was, and their talons were so God damn fucking massive, they tore up the stone they ran on. They usually went nude, mostly black skin thick enough to serve as armor, with red underbellies and red along the soft side of their arms, thighs, and face. Wanderers called them tigers sometimes, sometimes weretigers. They did kinda have a feline body shape, except, ya know, the giant, fat tail covered in spikes.

But they had faces like gorgalas, human-ish and female, with hair tendrils and a couple of horns. Unlike gorgalas, tregeera could smile real wide, and show off a set of teeth that put most demons to shame.

And Jes knew this one.

"Scilla! The fuck are you doing!?"

The huge bitch smiled as she came barreling toward them, the short black tendrils on her head bouncing around behind her long, sharp horns. Her dark red eyes looked hungry.

"Diogo and Tacitus send their regards!"

"What!?" Jes spread her wings and readied her claws, but as Scilla got closer -- didn't take her long -- her target became clear. She was running at Doaka.

And as much as riivas could jump around and scale steep cliffs and shit, this part of thorn mountain was mostly flat, perfect for a tregeera to run them down.

Dao tried to jump out of the way, but Scilla predicted it, and pounced to meet her. Dao wore armor, but tregeera were bigger, stronger, and those claws could get through meera metal if she had the strength to back it up. Scilla did. She was an up-and-comer in Diogo's enforcers, and a bitch Jes knew to avoid.

A second later, Dao fell to the mountain side, pinned under the much larger demon.

Well, fuck that. As Daoka cried out, a wavering shriek mixed with a thousand chirps, Jes threw herself at Scilla's side. Fucking tregeera had a lot of spikes on their big tails, but the spikes on their spine weren't too huge or in the way. Jes managed to get her claws into Scilla's back, through the black hide, and sink them into her, drawing out a roar of pain from the bitch. And that's why, even with a thick leathery hide, demons should wear armor. All Scilla had on was a big goort strap around the chest to keep her tits in check. Dumbass.

Scilla stood up and spun around, but Jes kept her claws where they were, spinning around with Scilla like she was attached. She basically was.

"Jes! Get off! Diogo has a deal with Tacitus."

"I don't fucking care! You're not killing her!"

Snarling, Scilla spun around faster, then twisted side to side hard, before she finally got smart, got back on all fours, and rolled over. And much as Jes saw it coming, her claws were a bit too deep in the bitch's thick hide. Jeskura went under the large creature's weight, and she roared as she pushed up against her. She was strong enough to keep Scilla from crushing her, but not strong enough to keep some of those spikes from cutting her forearms in the roll.

Scilla rolled back onto all fours, the angle thankfully enough to leave Jeskura on the ground, claws coming free. Roaring until the mountain almost shook, the grinning beast turned to face Jes, and licked her many, many sharp teeth.

"You got nerve fucking with Diogo, Jes. Don't think I won't tell him about this."

Before Jes could sit up, Scilla pounced, and slammed one of her big, clawed feet down on her. She flexed her talons, and they dug into Jes's armor, and through it, deep enough the tips of her talons reached Jes's chest.

"I didn't do shit to Diogo!" Jes clawed at the leg pinning her, and Scillia withdrew before Jes could get her claws through the dark skin.

"You're interfering with my hunt! This riiva ran from the Crag. Tacitus sent a gremlin with a message that he wants this particular riiva dead. Had some of her blood. I've been tracking the scent for days."

Well, that explained why Dao was hiding, then.

"Fuck you."

"Ha! Stay out of my way, Jes, and I won't--" Scilla flew forward, and fell onto her tits and stomach hard enough she slid five feet over the harsh stone of Thorn Mountain, before she rolled over several times, bloodgrip cutting at her.

Daoka stood where Scilla had been, leaning forward, with bits of blood on her horns. Holy shit, she'd rammed Scilla in the back. Dao's armor was shredded, exposing bits of red skin underneath. Scilla had been playing with Jes, but she straight up meant to kill -- and probably eat -- Dao.

And Dao was the first demon Jes had met in fucking years that she kinda didn't want to die.

Jes didn't wait for Scilla to recover. She spread her wings, aimed at the bitch on the ground, and leapt toward the tregeera. With enough speed, the air caught under her wings, and she took flight. As Scilla got up, Dao thankfully got the hint, and charged again. Scilla recovered fast, and leaned down to catch Dao's oncoming charge with her hands. Dao's huge horns landed snuggly in Scilla's grip, and the tall beast roared down at the riiva.

Jes pulled her wings in snug, and fell onto Scilla's back and shoulders. Stupid bitch, so preoccupied with her hunt. Now her only pair of hands were busy trying to stop a riiva demon from ramming a hole straight through her gut.

Scilla picked Dao up by the horns, and threw her. Jes almost took off to try and catch her new friend in the air, or at least stop her from rolling down the mountain until she broke all her limbs, but if Jes did that, she wouldn't be able to deal with Scilla. Please be ok, Dao.

"Get off! Get--"

Jes sank her claws into Scilla's neck, and ripped out the bitch's throat. No showing off, no bravado, no boasts, that was the sort of shit that got demons killed, demons like Scilla.

Scilla's whole body went rigid for a second, before she reached up, grabbed Jes, and threw her down onto the ground in front of her. Ow.

"Gl... ga..." Gargling on blood, the big bitch fell onto her knees, and then crashed onto the stone slope of Thorn Mountain. She twitched a few times, big spiky tail trembling, and died.

"Dao!" Jes ran off in her direction, spread her wings and caught the air again, ignoring the new pain in her wings, and quickly swooped down to find her friend.

Thank God, the riiva sat up. Jes landed beside her and helped her stand, and Dao had to hold onto her arm for balance.

"You ok?"

Dao managed a slow nod, and clicked several times. There were deep gashes in her armor, and the devorjin skull on her shoulder was cracked. Bits of blood trickled down her legs, and a few nasty cuts marked her arms and shins where the armor didn't cover; riiva had a few small spikes on the elbows and knees that got in the way of armor more than gorgalas.

The riiva clicked several times questioningly as she looked around, and Jes gestured to Scilla's body.

"Dead. I'm not sure what you did to piss off Tacitus so much, but it's probably better if you don't tell me. Scilla was one of Diogo's closest enforcers, so, I guess whatever deal he worked out with Tacitus... yeah." Before Dao could respond, Jes held up her free hand, other still holding Dao up. "Whatever, doesn't matter. She's dead now. I'll take care of it."

After a long, heavy sigh, Dao leaned in toward her, and rested her weight over Jes's shoulders. She was six feet tall, but Jes was six and a half feet, and had no trouble holding her up. A demon leaning on her for support? First time it'd ever happened in her whole damn life, and Jes had been around for a good while. Whoever Dao was, whatever her past, she was too precious to let die.

Jes smiled at her, hooked her closer wing around Dao's back and further shoulder, and the two of them walked over to Scilla's body. Unexpected second meal. Nice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was going to tear the bailiff's head off, and wear his skull as a helmet.

With a heavy sigh, Jeskura walked through the tunnels of Diogo's cave, and she made damn sure every other demon she ran into knew she was angry. Easy to do, with a tregeera head dangling from her hand by the dead bitch's tendrils. Everyone in the cave gave her space, which only made her more angry, cause she was itching for an opportunity to rip something in half, anything to blow off some steam. A gorujin? A fujara? Bring it.

Her talons scratched along the stone floor, announcing her annoyance to anyone within earshot. Her tail slithered behind her, helping her keep balance toward her talons, in case she needed to pounce some fucking asshole. With her wings wrapped around her shoulders like a cloak, she looked almost regal, like maybe she should be running this province. Maybe she should? Zel would probably be happier with her running the place. Diogo was just a stupid devorjin. The fuck could he do to her?