Ask and you shall receive

For @Amos

It could be dangerous to be out here, at least for anyone who was looking for a place of peace. The Woods of Ash were ever changing, some even saying it changed as fast as the winds did if not even faster. The daemon wandering the woods had no idea what he was about to stumble upon, not as a giant portal opened relatively close to him, drawing up the wind in swirls as a beast stepped through. Smoke and fire surrounding it, but it was clear that it was not from this world. As the creature immerged, its glowing red eyes sought through the darkness of the night, the late night fog mixing with its fiery smoke.
And yet even in the darkness, the being knew it was drawing attention to itself. It saw the daemon, tilting its horned head to the side before its form changed, matching what it was looking at. "Son of Bael," he said, pointing at the unknowing daemon. The now humanoid creature could not move much, but it drew the young daemon closer as if by magic strings, so close that they were now face to face. "I am Ahn Hazael, and I command you to find my daughter and return her to me!" It was a clear order, this being ancient and more knowing than it lead on. Reaching forward he pressed his finger to the young daemon's forehead, giving him a vision of red hair and a location where he could find this girl. "Bring her back to me and I shall grant you the wish of your hearts deepest desire," he promised, and if the young daemon agreed, a mark would appear on his arm, both on Hazael and the daemon before him. That was all he could say before his portal gave in and he had to return to his realm, leaving the young daemon behind as if it had been a dream. And yet the burning mark on his arm was a clear reminder of the deal he had just made.

Alyssa had been doing alright since the portal had been closed, but she had taken more of a backseat in to ruling the Order of Empusas. After all of this, she had been reminded of what was important, and one of those things were her family. Most of all her son. He had been going through a rough time, and now he seemed almost as if nothing had happened. And yet, call it mother's intuition, but she knew something was beneath that.
She was sitting in the living room, having a more informal gathering with some of her trusted empusas, discussing how things were going down in South and hearing more about the gas leak in the Blocks. She heard the front door closing, frowning a little as it had been weeks since Amos had been home during the evenings. It was almost strange, but she got up, greeting her son in the hallway. "Is something wrong?" she asked after greeting him gently with a small squeeze of his shoulder and a brief hug. Alyssa wasn't much of a hugger, but she was always trying to make an effort to be more loving with her offspring. Him and Saoirse she had always been more keen to hug, the latter she was unsure of as to why, but she didn't like dwelling on those thoughts too long.

Amos not saying much was not unnatural at this point. The boy came and went as he pleased, and deep down Alyssa knew he was just trying to drown out the sorrow he felt. She just felt sad that she couldn't help him in any ways. As he rolled up his sleeve she frowned. It looked like a burnt in rune on his skin. "Where did you get this?" she asked confused, inspecting his arm that was still red from the burns. It wasn't a natural cut, that was for sure, but Alyssa had never seen anything like it. It didn't look like infernal writing, nor any daemonic lettering that she knew of, that was for sure.
His eyes glanced to the living room and she shook her head, "I can send them home, if you'd like? I think this is more urgent than you are thinking," she said. She at least wouldn't hear him talking about being a burden or somehow interrupting her work. No, he came first, and he knew that. It didn't take long for Alyssa to dismiss her loyal empusas. Most of them were perhaps relieved that they could call it a night early and get some sleep before tomorrow.
Alyssa cleared the coffee table, "do you want anything?" she asked. He was a daemon, but he seemed to like tea just like she did, so perhaps a cup would be nice for both of them right now. If he agreed, she would make them each a cup, adding a smidge of soul essence to each just to it would give them a bit of sustenance as well. Handing him a cup, she sat down in the couch with her own, urging him to tell her all about what had happened.

Sitting down she listened as Amos spoke of this strange encounter. Alyssa knew of many daemons, knew of a few that had extra ordinary abilities, but this sounded nothing like anything she had ever heard of. If a daemon possessed both portal powers, the ability to shapeshift and make deals that seemed this binding, then the Orders would've lost their minds. No, this had to be something else. "Can you describe how the creature looked when he appeared?" she asked, frowning as she wasn't quite sure how else he could show her.
He spoke about a vision. Visions? Now it was starting to sound more in the likes of a seraph, but she couldn't believe it to be a hybrid either. No, then they would've seen something resembling Saoirse, right? She took a sip of her tea before she got up. She had a few picture books of places in Churchill, but she wasn't quite sure how much that would help. "Can you try and describe what he showed you?" she asked, coming back with the book, letting him flip through it. "Perhaps a name of some kind, or letters that could resemble a name?" she said, having pen and paper at the ready if he wanted to try and scribble something down. If this creature wanted her son's help, then he must've offered something in return, but she wouldn't ask about that just yet. For now it was about solving this mystery.

He did try to describe the creature as best as he could, but frankly it had been over in a heartbeat almost. So it wasnt like he remembered every single detail. Especially as his mind had been flooded by that vision of the place that he seemingly had to find. If it wasnt he was scared shitless of the thought of breaking the promise he had made, then he never would've cared if some random girl was lost and now wanted back by her family. He wasnt exactly the kind of person to be someone's hero.
Alyssa got up and he watched her go to fetch the book. The question made him hum as he thought about it. "I didnt see anything that really made sense." he sighed, a little irritable but it was more the circumstances than towards his mother. He looked at the pictures, raising his eyebrows a little before he just sighed and shook his head. "This is pointless." he just complained. Drawing in a deep breath, he needed a small break before he could continue. He then tried to explain the details that had stood out the most, hoping that he could somehow paint the picture he was looking for with words.

Alyssa was just as frustrated as her son, she just had an easier time hiding it. It took many years practice to look this stone cold to the outside world. As Amos tried describing what he had seen she hummed, flipping through the book, folding down the corners of pages that might give them a lead. "What you're describing sounds familiar to me - not the girl, but the place," she said, getting up once more, though her body was still sore from all the work she had been doing as of late. Ever since Simeon's return, she hadn't been able to rest properly. Coming closer to her son, she showed him a page that she thought it might be. It was a playground, one located in a park in Central. "You said chains and red, well that describes the swing set - And then you said green with brown and mirrors, that might be the small lake that reflects the surrounding trees?" she suggested. It was a long shot, but again all of this was absurd if you didn't believe in Amos to begin with. That was one thing Alyssa would always do; support her son.

Somehow Amos never doubted that his mother would be able to help him in some regard. She was the person he probably held in the highest regard. But that was also not his own choice as one could never not feel bound to the person who gave birth to them and raised them. He hummed as she said the place sounded familiar. His hopes were sparked, hoping that she could give him a good lead. She showed him a page and began explaining the things she saw that correlated with his visions. He grabbed the book and looked closer at it, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I could try and see where that leads me." he mumbled, before he looked up at his mother with thankful eyes. He rarely thanked anyone in a verbal manner but there had been a few times. But the way you could tell that he truly meant it was by his eyes. A certain softness, vulnerability that he otherwise wouldnt show. He looked down at the book, closing it before putting it on the table. "I need to rest." he said with a sigh. He couldnt remember the last time he had properly slept. "Sleep tight, mother." he told her before he went to his room, dragging off his shirt and dumping it. He hadnt really forgotten the conversation he had had with the lycan that had appeared out of nowhere. It sort of hit deep home talking about Saoirse when she wasnt here anymore. He let himself fall on the bed with a thump and just slept as he laid.

Alyssa hummed, sending her boy a smile as he wished her a good night. He had barely been home since Saoirse had gone in to the portal, so she saw this as a good sign. Maybe whoever he had made a deal with would grant him some sort of purpose, even if it all sounded too mystical.

The next day on the other end of town, Ash was taking her daily walk through Central, heading towards the Museum of History and Arts. She didn't have classes today, so instead she opted to spend her free time surrounded by beautiful things. Having texted a bit back and forth with Alice, she already felt in a giddy mood, hoping that she would get to see her soon again. She had just herself returned from Korinthia, and the interview with the university over there had seemingly been very good. At least she was on a list now of possible candidates, which was good considering the fact that she didn't have a lot of money to just throw around. A scholarship would do wonders for her to go there.
After the museum visit, she walked to the park not far from it, sitting down on a bench, breathing out as she unwrapped the sandwich she had bought. Taking a bite she unscrewed the lid on her water bottle, downing a few gulps as she looked around. It was a beautiful day today, the sun was shining and kids were playing on the playground not far from her. She smiled, looking at a couple of kids who were playing tag on the grass closer to the water. The lake so clear and reflective as always, as if it was another world beneath the surface.

When he woke up, he still felt tired. But he was unsure if it was just because he needed a few more hours or because he was in this state of not really knowing his purpose. How different he was from how he had used to be. Saoirse had really turned his whole world around. Scoffing lightly at himself, he rolled out of bed and went to shower, at least to try and lighten the heavy feeling in his head.

He eventually had to go to the place he had been shown. Standing under the running shower, he could let his thoughts run loose with his eyes closed. He felt conflicted. Why had the man chosen him? What if his daughter wouldnt come with him and return to her family? So many questions. He looked at his wrist, the hand that had once been infected and then there was also the new mark that the ancient being had given him. As soon as the portals had stabilized, the infection had seemed to go into a slumber, but he could see the faint streaks of darkness swim around under his skin. Slicking his wet hair back he got out of the shower and dried off. Then he got dressed.

He had put in the location on his phone and had decided to run there. That way he could stay in shape. When he got there, he felt warm but not quite sweaty and tired. He would have to push himself further if he wanted to reach exhaustion. Sitting down on a bench, he was panting lightly, leaning back and relaxing his muscles. Then he looked around. Just looking for any girl with red hair that may be looming around.

Seeing that the weather was nice, she took a few more bites of her sandwich before digging in to her bag, taking out her sketchbook. The lake looked beautiful today, and part of her hoped that she could get to capture just a small bit of it. Drawing was both a blessing and a curse; On one hand she loved sketching things down, drawing how she saw the world. But sometimes it was like her hand couldn't follow what she imagined in her mind.
Sitting there she put in her headphones, playing a playlist that her and Alice had put together. She missed her a lot. Were they girlfriends? She wasn't quite sure, but the thought of it sent chills down her spine and made her heart beat faster. Yeah, she was really into her. But would it work if she didn't get accepted to that damned art school in Korinthia? Only time would tell.