Black, Broken Hearts

Calcifer smiled satisfied when he saw Rin return with Miriam, mere minutes after he had left. It was clear that Rin had made it sound a whole lot more difficult than what it really was. He had gotten to her so easily it was obvious he had only been reluctant to bring her.
"Now, was that so hard?" he asked mockingly when Rin stopped before him with the girl. She wasn't looking at him, she wasn't looking at either of them, and her face betrayed her anger and hurt. Still, she seemed stubbornly brave and it only annoyed Calcifer further.
"Did he hurt you, dearie?" he teased her whilst lying a hand on her cheek to force her to look at him. He had met many foolish humans in his lifetime, but none as foolish as her. The stubborn bravery was getting on his nerves and he wanted nothing more than to break her like vermin.

Rin pushed Miriam towards Calcifer, not wanting to have to drag her any longer. He did not appreciate the mockery, and yet his expression remained stone cold. He was tired of him, but he hoped now it would come to an end, as he hoped most of his problems would with the removal of Miriam.
Hesistantly he stayed there, unsure of what to really do. Although he was sure Calcifer knew what he was doing, ultimately he was still unarmed and Miriam may easily be able to escape. However he made himself comfortable, leaning against one of the Cathedral walls. He had two knives now, more than needed, and he handed back to Calcifer what he had retrieved for him.
'Thought you might want to return that' he smirked. 'Shes given me what I need.' He pointed towards the knife in his belt.

He could force her to look, but he couldn't make her see, and though the tears from earlier still stung in her eyes her expression still remained cold and blank. She could get out, she knew she could. She had always mustered in the past, and she still had a weapon in her bag. When the time was right no doubt she could use it to escape. She still damned Rin in her mind as he handed the other demon a weapon. It all made it harder for her, but she was still determined to get out, with or without Rin's pathetic help.

The tears in her eyes surprised him, and though he took the weapon from Rin he kept his eyes on the human girl.
"Oh Rin, I do believe you've hurt her," he said seemingly upset, but they both knew it was nothing but mockery in disguise. To prove his point he tilted Miriam's head in his direction to let him see the tears. No doubt the girl was fierce, but she was still human after all, and humans were weak.
"Don't worry dearie, I'm sure I can treat you better," he smiled at her as he pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her to hold her still and keep her from escaping. She could wriggle as much as she wanted, but his new body was far stronger than hers, specially in the state she was in now.

He looked at Miriam's tears, but only read them as another low she had stooped to to try and manipulate him further still. At the end of the day she was just another cruel yet pathetic human, trying to survive for as long as possible.
Regardless he did not appreciate Calcifer's tauntings, and he shrugged away his gestures not looking for very long. If Calcifer wanted to play around then so be it, but he would not stoop to his level and react.
'She got what she deserved' he muttered.

Calcifer's taunts had been provocative, but they did not hurt as much as Rin's cold glare and words. For a second it felt like a ragged blade cut through her heart, but the next second the pain was gone, for the blade had not just injured her heart, it had killed it. The numb feeling scared her to an extent, but she was still grateful for its mercyful relief, and she quickly blinked away her tears. He was not worth them.
"So will you, soon enough," she snarled at him, finally unable to hold her tounge.

"Watch your bitch Rin, she barks," Calcifer smiled, but was not truely annoyed. If anything this was amusing him.
However amused, he still tightened his grip on her arm until she whimpered in pain. Though he was all in favor of mocking Rin she needed to learn her place, she was nothing now that she was surrounded by demons, if not vermin soon to be dealt with. He couldn't risk her getting too cocky.

'We'll see about that' he muttered, not wanting to stay much longer. He would leave Calcifer to deal with whatever business he had with her, and would not think about what would happen beyond that. He did not want to know. Either way she would be gone, and that was all he should focus upon.
Now he was the one who could not look at her, as if some form of guilt had suddenly sprung from nowhere. However he did not want to show this sudden display of weakness, and instead his gaze remained cold.
'Did you actually have some reason for me to bring her here?' he asked. 'Or are you going to just fool around?'

She remained quiet after that, not wanting to speak or even look upon him. She would barely notice the presence of Calcifer if it had not been for his strong grip on her. When she whimpered she whispered a quiet curse that was caught between her gasps, her chest heaving as much out of anger as out of pain. She had settled with the idea there could never be anything between Rin and herself, and yet she felt it unnecessary that it had come to this. Surely they needn't be enemies, and though they had never been anything but just that, she still felt betrayed.

"You know perfectly well what I intend to do with her," he said and smiled his devilish smile. He had already told Rin of his plans at an earlier point, and they both knew she would suffer a slow, insanely painful death at the hands of Cali, known for her cruel killings as much as her recklessness.
"We are sure to have fun with her, aren't we?" he said, his question directed at Miriam while he teasingly kissed her temple and drew in the smell of her hair. She would never be beautiful, nor appealing, yet her skin felt sweeter than any human before her, the revenge filling him with thrill.

With that Rin decided to leave, knowing well that Calcifer had much to do whilst his presence was not welcome. He was already growing rather uncomfortable at the sight of them, and with no job or real purpose for him being there he decided that this was best.
Silently he walked away, ignoring anything they said or did. He headed towards the Nave, desperately looking for anything to do. Acquiring Miriam was a momentary distraction, but he still felt more angry than he had in a long time, and needed something to relieve that.

She watched Rin walk away with dread, every fiber of her body wanting to run after him if it was not for Calcifer's grip on her. She stayed where she was, though in her mind she was running. Kept her tounge, though inside she was screaming with all the strength she had left.
She would not speak to this other demon, and stared instead into thin air, at the place where she had seen Rin disappear.

Finally having him gone he smirked. She seemed stubborn enough, and he somewhat dreaded her answer to what he was about to ask. In either case he knew she would be most amusing once he brought her to Cali, and his red eyes were glistering with excitement at the upcoming events.
"You're treading deep waters loving a demon," he laughed at her, following her desperate, longing eyes to where Rin had disappeared. Most demons would have a real problem with the word, just like he had in the beginning, but love was his main barganing chip, and he had learnt to appreciate the word and all of its meaning. It was a weakness, the crack in the facade humans would like to put up, and usually what made them deal.
"It's almost heartbreaking to know you could stay with him if you only said yes to me," he said with a teasing smile. It was a lie of course, even less than love, Calcifer knew nothing of heartache, and Rin and this filthy human girl he longed for was the least depressing thing he could make himself think of. It was pure amusement in his eyes and nothing more.

"Small chance of that," she said, returning his smile in a mocking mannor. She knew she was getting out, and as far as she was concerned this was all a joke only she was clever enough to understand. She could not wait to see the look on his face when she stabbed him, her knife cutting deep into his chest. She could imagine it all clearly in her head, and the thought of it made her lips form a sly smile of secrecy.
"He loathes me, whatever form I take, so you can spare me your bad breath."

He laughed, thinking she must be joking, but she seemed as if she meant her words.
"You cannot be serious, dearie," he smiled teasingly. "I have never seen a demon more pathetically desperate. Not that I understand why," he said and made a grimace as he looked her up and down once again. She never grew on him, and she seemed as hideous as she had always been to him.
"You should only know how long it took me to convince him to bring you. He's in quite a lot of trouble because of you." He said it with such casualty, as if it meant nothing to him, which it didn't. The only pleasure he got from this was watching her expression which was always ever so amusing.

She stared at him in wonder, for a second unable to realize the meaning of his words.
"That's... impossible," she said, but her voice unsure. What this redeyed monster thought of her was of no concern to her, and so she could not be bothered keeping her facade for any long amount of time. She was too tired and weak for that, and his words had gotten under her skin.
"D-demon don't... feel," she said, but she was starting to doubt her own words. Her weak voice revealed her uncertainty. Maybe it was a faint hope that kept her believing even if her mind told her what the crossroads demon was suggesting was utterly impossible.

"Au contraire mademoiselle," he laughed and looked at her, enjoying every whimp, every doubting glance, every sign of weakness, and at the time being this girl was giving them out like candy in a schoolyard.
"You're half right, I'll give you that. Most of us could never feel what you do. A month ago I would have believed Rin to be in that category as well, but oh how he proved me wrong. Could you not tell he's acting differently?" he smirked and leaned in close to her to whisper in her ear.
"He's upset," he whispered softly and pulled away to see her amusing reaction.

Her eyes widened, and for a moment she wholeheartedly believed it to be true, but the doubt stung in the back of her mind.
"You're lying," she said sternly, that had to be the truth. She told herself it wouldd not matter if he was truthful, but already was she imagining running after Rin when this was all over with. Would she be strong enough to reject him a second time? She wasn't sure.

"I don't need to," he replied, looking her in the eyes so she would know he was truthful.
"Now I'm only telling you this for one reason, dearie," he said, his eyes still locked on hers, making sure she paid attention to him fully.
"There is only one way you could be with him, and we both know it," he said, stroking her cheek with a loving caress and smiling kindly towards her, though they both knew better. "And all you have to do is make a wish."

Despite her better judging, she found herself believing him. It would explain his strange behavior. It would mean everything Rin had told her the last time they met were the truth, and she damned herself for not believing him sooner. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to stab Calcifer and run after Rin, to confess what she felt, despite what she should and what would be right to do.
If he only was to turn his back on her.. if she could only get to her knife quick enough.. but he wouldn't turn around, he simply kept staring at her. The idea of dealing with him however, still felt insanely unlikely, and she just spat in his face, letting that be her final answer.

He wiped the spit out of his eyes while groaning. He had known she would refuse, but he hadn't expected that of her. While stepping back from her he had accidentally cut her lower arm, and her pained cry was enough to make him smile despite the saliva. She had gotten what she deserved indeed. If she wouldn't deal with him, she still had another useful purpose, and she would not find this nearly as pleasant as a deal.
Turning his back on her he pulled her arm to make her walk, he needed to find Cali.

She saw her chance when he turned his back on her, letting her free hand roam the bag and quickly pulled out her iron knife to stab him repeatedly in the bag. He swung around to cut her, but she swiftly stepped away from his blade and stabbed him again in his inner thigh. She didn't stop until he was on the ground wretching and squirming in extreme amounts of pain, and even then she stabbed him one last time.
She looked around for demons quickly before she bent down to pick up his weapon, seeing that it was far nicer than her own, and started running towards the nave, where she had seen Rin disappear. She had to find him, before someone else found her, or before Calcifer got up again.