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The second account of a territory breech was enough to have his skin crawling. That said nothing for the third, the fourth, the fifth...and so they continued, cropping up until all the demons in the Hive tucked themselves away out of fear of being blamed for the crimes. Despite his anger, he knew his demons were not to blame.
It seemed easy enough, though it had taken weeks to figure out. What were the patterns, where did it strike, and what needs could it not fulfill on its own. Between he and his steward, he'd narrowed it down, further and further. If he couldn't catch this thing and take it in to the hive, give it shelter, give it family, teach it cleaner ways, he always supposed he could kill it. Cannibalism held no shame amoung demons; his people would be enthralled with a sacrifice.
Where he sat, the warm night air was comforting, giving only a slight chill to his bare chest, a reminder of a long-distant home in Mexico that he missed dearly, but he tipped his head back in defiance of the memory. He crossed his legs tightly together, toes curling in anticipation, and tugged at the ends of his pants, as if they needed straightened. He had pulled a chair from the abandoned little house to sit at the end of the hall, right across from the front door. It was time to see if this demon had any manners.
Straightening his back, he sucked in a sharp, cold breath. Idly, he thought, the white paint over his skin would need to be redone before the night was out. Still, Eduardo's dark claws dug into the soft wood of the chair's arms. It had been a long time since he'd killed anything, and the wait was beginning to eat at him.

Ariel was restless as she paced the back ally behind a pub. It had been merely three days since her last kill and already her skin was crawling, the need taking up almost every thought she had. Ariel had left her current residence, an abandoned house a few miles outside of town, an hour ago. She was driven from the safety of the house by boredom. If one were to rewind a week they would of found Ariel living in New York City. There she would go out clubbing almost nightly and engage in other scandalous activities. It was easier to keep all her urges, all her desires at bay in the big city. Perhaps it was the lust and sin she fed off of in the night clubs or just the general atmosphere of the city that kept her darker, blood thirsty side sedated. Perhaps leaving the United States wasn't the best idea but she had to. A hunter was hot on her trail along with law enforcement. Just because her darker side was sedated in the city it didn't mean she didn't have a body count. And her body count here was already double what it was in NYC. She kept chose her victims at random, the only real connection being that they weren't drunk when they left the bars.

Sound caught Ariel's attention, someone was going to turn down the alley way. By the scent of the human she could tell that it was a male, late thirties, perfect for her. The feeling Ariel had from shifting into her true, hell hound form, could only be described as pure ecstasy. Her muscles rippled under her dark pelt, her long lethally sharp claws dug into the ground. Her bone like tail whipped back and forth, the deadly spade flickering dangerously. The man didn't seem her until it was to late, the hunt was underway.

Ariel had chased him out of town before she finished him off. She always liked the thrill of the hunt and the final satisfaction of the kill. The kill itself was by no means clean and her howls echoed through the air. Her howls would paralyze humans with fear when they heard it. They would try and rationalize what they heard, writing them off as those of a wolf or stray dog. Ariel walked calmly back towards her house, still in hell hound form. She was satisfied and hummed with pleasure and fulfillment. Ariel had no idea what waited for her within her home. Walking up to the door, she shifted into her human form. Her white shirt stained red, her skinny jeans torn. She reached down and opened the door, walking in. The door closed behind her and she took a few steps inside before she froze, hazel eyes staring at Eduardo. Her fight or flight instincts kicked in and she turned to run.

“Look at you, all bloody and incriminating!”

A gust of energy flushed through the room; he swore that he could smell the adrenaline wafting through the air, whether it was hers or his own. With it, the lock on the door flicked into the secure position. She was not allowed to leave, not until he had convinced her to join the Hive -- or to face her death.

So it was a girl. A female, a young woman, whatever she could be called. He could smell it on her, the decay of early death. It would have smelled so sweet any other time, but it made his skin crawl worse now that he was so close to it. It was not fresh, it was not clean, but the scent was thick no less.

Letting a low, short growl spill from his throat, Eduardo’s lips twitched into a smirk. He raised himself from the chair, bones cracking under his skin. Behind him, a great set of fleshy black wings unfurled, and the glint of moonlight through the window cast a glow over the ram-like curls of black horns on his head. Claws clacking against the wooden floor, he took a sluggish step toward her, arms out.

“Did you think we wouldn’t find out, niña?” He asked, breathlessly amused.

Ariel whirled around, eyes a pupil-less blood red, fangs bared. The stranger did not intimidate her, especially since she was fresh from the hunt. Her body was tense, ready for action and her instinct to flee was quickly overcome with her desire to kill. Ariel was like a feral, rabid dog. An inhuman snarl escaped her lips and she took a step back. She could of easily broke down the door, but to do so she would have to turn her back on him. The first rule Kent had taught her was to never turn her back on an enemy.

She took his wings, horns and claws as a threat display and responded. The shift was fast and just as euphoric. Where a girl once stood resided a beast from the depths of hell. At least that was her origin, she never actually set foot in the place. Her shoulder height bordered on six feet high and her fangs were long and sharp. Her tail whipped back and forth, the spade breaking glass and carving into the wooden door behind her. Her eyes were dark abysses with only a glowing blood red spark within. Her claws dug into the ground and her mane was standing up. Her long ears that were attached to the upper part of her exposed skull were pressed forward and she snarled, heat emitting from her mouth. Like she would set on fire any second. Her body was scarred yet muscular and lean.

"I didn't know the territory was claimed" she responded in a rough voice. IT sounded inhuman and seemed to echo throughout the house. Ariel hated demons, she hated any being that could control her and bend her to their will. If her mother didn't spirit her away she would of been raised in hell and had a master. But since she was raised on earth she grew up rebellious and hated authority. Two qualities no hell hound was supposed to have. Her species was bred to serve demons yet she ran wild on her own, no master.

The urge to kill the demon in front of her was overwhelming, a hungry snarl rumbled from her chest. She wanted to devour him, needed to. To feel the blood between her claws and hear his screams. Ariel was young, that much was obvious. She was a hormonal hell hound, trying to teach herself control when she didn't even know the full extent of what she could do. Most demons would look at her with distaste, to them she was a rabid dog that needed to be broken or put down, just a worthless animal.

He took her transformation in stride -- in the least, she looked similar to something normal. He'd seen a thousand demons looking far worse, knew demons who couldn't even make themselves look human, and though her form intrigued him, he offered little more than a blinking flinch at the sound of shattering glass.

"Si. And now you know it is. All of it is. It all belongs to me, and my people." His tongue, thin like that of snake, slipped out between his lips, wetting them. Lalo smoothed his claws through his hair, the soft tufts falling loosely over his forehead. Glittering red eyes studied her curiously. "Which leaves you with few options."

Was that what his father had looked like before he was given a true, demon form? They called them the Hounds, said that each of them was molded of the same clay they had been born in, to mothers like a canine. Perhaps that was what his father had looked like, all those thousands of years ago.

"Let me tell you, though..." He spoke as he wandered, fingers tracing along the walls of the hallway. Behind his fingertips, in a dark trail, the wallpaper peeled and smoked, smouldering against the wood, turning red under his touch. Eduardo's head tipped to one side. "If you kill me, you will not only anger over one million demons living here on Earth, but many in Hell. You will be barred from ever joining the Hive. You will be exposed at every turn, until the humans know what you are, and they persecute you, and send you to the very pits of Hell that we torture for fun. You will never leave."

His eyes whipped to study her once more. Interesting, indeed. It would be a shame, if he had to kill her. "Or, you could relax. Have a chat with me. Learn a bit. Get the benefit. Really, it's your choice."

She snarled and crouched, ready to spring. Ariel was clearly some sort of canine, at least she bore resemblance to one. She didn't like this winged demon, he was overly confident. Fangs flashing she growled a warning. He he get closer she would attack. This wasn't the first demon Ariel had come across and if she killed him he wouldn't be the first demon she killed. Most demons sought to control her and she fought back. How was she to know that he wasn't like the rest. Ariel's way of life was killed or be killed, survival of the fittest and she thought she was doing a damn fine job on her own. Her claws dug into the wood making it groan and she let out a hiss of hot air, charring the wooden floor. She watched him, studied him. She noticed how he moved and if he favored his left side over his right side. She calculated her attack. If she needed to she could also flee, leaving all her belongs in the small abandoned house.

"I've angered almost every other demon I meet and they all end up dead. You don't scare me." her voice was filled with venom. Most of the scars on her body were given to her by other demons. She didn't have the best experiences with demons. When most found that they couldn't control her they resorted to torturing her into obedience, It never worked.

"Or option three. I beat you in a fight and while you are passed out on the floor i'll flee." She responded

His head whipped around at her words. Staring her down, a blaze entered his eyes, but he tipped his head back. She wasn’t worth the anger.

“Querida, I haven’t even threatened you yet.” His palms felt hot, urging fire from his body, but Eduardo folded his arms. Hips bumping against the wall near the stairwell, his back arched in a bit of a stretch, as if he was bored.

She would be an interesting addition, if he could get her to join. Maybe he could even teach her how not to get caught, how to kill without the humans knowing. Maybe—

No, he would not draw up curious fantasies in his mind. If there was still the possibility of needing to kill her, he would not entertain ideas of friendship. He would not entertain any thought, really, not until he knew for certain that he would lead her to the Hive, or he would drag her corpse there.

“Let me make you an offer, si? You like friends, don’t you? Allies, at worst…Por favor?”

She huffed and shifted her weight, rolling her shoulders to get some tension out of them. "what is this proposal you speak of?" She didn't trust him but she would hear him out, for now at least. Ariel had been on her own for a while and loneliness was starting to overcome her. After all canines are normally pack animals. She longed for companionship but at the same time rebelled against it. With her kind their was no companionship. She was bred to be obedient and take orders. If she didn't like what he had to offer she could always just flee. Her back legs were hidden in shadow giving her the opportunity to turn into a shadow if she wanted. It was clear from how she acted that she was mistrusting and weary around demons. Due to bad past experiences. He was right though, he hadn't threatened her, yet.

There.

There, he’d gotten her to take the bait, even a little bit of nibble on it, and his lips twinged up into a smirk. His eyes lit up. But no fisherman would be foolish enough to sweep it up at such a little bite, not even him, and he lifted his face to the sky.

“Mi querida, you have made the acquaintance of a prince!” Idly, as if she required only a sliver of his attention, he offered a lazy half-grin to her. “And that gives you an advantage. My people, you see, are the people of a very large community of demons…we call it the Hive.”

Then, he lifted himself off the wall. With the motion, his tail whipped out from behind him, a whip-thin thing tipped with a small spade. It crashed violently into the wall, shattering a hole into the wooden wall.

His hands held out to either side of himself.

“This is your invitation to come see my home.”

Ariel let him speak, growing less found of the idea with each spoken word. Slowly her back legs began to dissolve into shadow. A whole hive a demons, her least favorite creatures in the world. If it were up to Ariel she would never associate with one demon, let alone thousands. The mere thought of it set her on edge. A small growl rumbled deep in her throat "príncipe" she started in an almost mocking tone. "You and I know that you aren't offering an invitation. I go with you or you do your best to end me." Ariel was not foolish, she knew that if she didn't go with him to his so called 'hive' that he would do his best to kill her and send her to hell.

"Further more why would I willingly go to a place crawling with the very creatures I try my hardest to avoid?" her voice was filled with venom. Her anger and rage boiling within her. Without realizing it Ariel began to burn the floor beneath her paws, not so it was on fire but so the wood turned black and charred.

"I refuse to be someone's pet." she said with a growl. "or guinea pig, or servant, or attack dog." Her tail lashed back and forth in an almost cat like manner. Her legs and tail were slowly turning into shadow. But the effect was painfully slow. If this was to avoid detection or because Ariel didn't know how to do it effectively was unknown. Either way she seemed to be backing away from the deal.

Oh, and there was the adrenaline again.

He shouldn't have enjoyed this, he knew. Eduardo didn't really want to kill her. The bigger the Hive got, the better, the more he was encouraging demons to build power. Where was the fun in letting the humans slowly figure out they existed? Killing her now would only make for one more dead, uneducated demon in his eyes.

But the way she began to tense had his mouth watering. His fingers tensed, urging for the warmth of blood on his palms, and he felt his heart leap into his throat.

Swishing, his own tail scraped against the wall, and he dragged his claws against the wood of the panels. Suddenly, a small flame leapt to the wood, darkening it and setting a smoulder to it, but he crushed the flame. A lump of charcoal was left shrivelled in its place.

"No, it isn't an invitation," he hummed, chin tipping up through his smirk. "But right now, perra, you are my problem. And see, I don't want problems...I'd rather educate you, you know, teach you how to be a demon..."

As he spoke, his eyes nearly fluttered shut, and he began to wander toward her. Venom and irritation laced through his voice.

"If you'd prefer I kill you, that's fine. Just say the word. Either way, I will not continue to have a problem."

In stead of taking a step back Ariel stepped forward, raising to full height. She was more bear or horse sized than dog sized. Raw fury burned within her, he thought he was all mighty and powerful. Normally Ariel would of fought, she would of gotten a kick out of knocking him down a few pegs. Ariel may of radiated raw, overflowing power but he had an air of control and precision about him. She may not like to admit it but she wasn't sure if she would make it out of a fight with him. Ariel wanted to sink her fangs into his throat, to tear out his windpipe and shred his flesh. Especially after being called a "perra."

She snarled, anger boiled within her as she shifted from her true form to her human form. It was obvious that Ariel was standing down even though her body remained tense, her fists clenched.
"I accept your invitation" she said with a sickly sweet smile. Her eyes glaring daggers into him, if only looks could kill.

It was sick, but it was sweet, all the same. Eduardo couldn't call it winning, really, but he felt the satisfaction of winning swelling in his chest.

Just as sudden, his wings retracted into some hidden place, disappearing from his body other than a trickle of blood across each shoulderblade. His tail disappeared, and his claws retracted, leaving his eyes a burning, glowing red in the darkness. Dusky grey-green harem pants seemed to shorten his excessive height now, the white paint over his chest denoting a separate culture entirely, and his hair fell in a short flop.

Strange, how now, aside from his general state of undress, he looked almost frighteningly normal, like an average seventeen year old boy with a crooked grin.

"I'm so glad," he hummed, sarcasm hesitating only lightly on his tongue. "The Hive isn't far. And should you change your mind...understand I will gladly drag your corpse the rest of the way to give as feast." Then, "You never told me your name."

Ariel rolled her eyes at his threat and brushed passed him, moving deeper into the house. Her white shirt was still soaked with blood. Her auburn hair cascaded down her back in messy curls and blood was still smeared on her skin. Her body was athletic but still held curves.

"My name is Ariel." she said as she moved into the kitchen. A black backpack rested on the table. With a small sigh she opened it up and pulled out a clean shirt. She didn't hesitate as she pulled her blood soaked, white shirt over her head. Ariel's back was turned to Eduardo but he was still able to tell that she was wearing a black bra. He could also see the numerous scars that were carved into her flesh.

She felt defeated and she was angry about it. She wanted to fight, she would rather fight than be dragged somewhere against her will. But she would rather live than be sent to hell. Putting a black low cut t-shirt on she rummaged in her bag for her sweater. Upon finding it she also put it on before turning around to Eduardo. The front of the sweater read "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." in sweeping white letters while sweater itself was black.

Overall she looked like your normal, pissed off nineteen year old. Her hand found its way to her necklace, a birthday present from Kent, and started playing with it. The necklace was her most prized possession and she would rather die than give it up.