aurabby
Selected Fri, Apr 14, 2023
The demon clutched the woman close. Although he was a being of hulking size, he seemed small somehow as he desperately clung to her body.
Arabelle could do naught but stare, mouth agape, at the peculiar scene before her. The demon's voice might have been full of anger moments before, but now he had his back turned to the party of foragers.
"I'm a healer; maybe I can help," Arabelle spat out without even a moment's thought. She could feel the stares of the others in her group.
The demon turned his head slowly towards her. He stared into her eyes with pitch black ones of his own.
Gavith took her by the arm. "What are you doing?" He hissed as he tugged her back. "That's an archdemon, you fool. Are you trying to get killed?"
Arabelle shook her arm out of his grasp. "That's a woman he's holding so dearly. Besides, he doesn't seem to be a danger to us. There must be something I can do," Arabelle consoled her friends and gingerly approached the demon and his human.
The demon laid the woman down on the soft grass of the clearing. Trees surrounded them on all sides, and the sun shone brightly overhead, gleaming off the bloodred skin of the devilish being.
Arabelle knelt down next to the woman. Her deep brown hair framed an exquisite sleeping face. She was no older than thirty; seemingly the picture of health, except for the bright red gash running down her chest.
Somehow, the wound did not gush blood, and upon checking her pulse, it appeared to be beating steadily. The demon must have been doing something to keep her from losing her life too quickly. If she could just heal the wound itself...
Arabelle brought her hands over the wound and began channeling her healing. Her hands twitched. She touched the wound directly with one hand. It recoiled.
*She... she has no heart...* Arabelle thought as she stared in confused terror at the serene face of the woman before her. *But her pulse...*
Arabelle looked up at the demon looming above. His enormous figure obscured the sun itself, casting her into shadow. Two wicked horns protruded from the top of his silhouette.
"I-I'm sorry," Arabelle choked. "She has no heart. I'm not even sure how her blood still flows. I cannot heal that which is not there," Arabelle tried her best to remain calm in the face of the terrifying beast before her.
The demon knelt down. A razor-sharp, stark black claw extended towards the woman's cheek. Despite the wickedness of his form, he caressed her cheek gently, careful to do no harm.
"I see," the demon spoke evenly, his face impassive.
Arabelle rose and tried to keep the relief she felt from showing on her face. The demon didn't seem very angry.
Suddenly, Arabelle felt a tearing at her chest. A sharp coldness ran throughout every inch of her body. The very world around her seemed to darken. Screaming.
"Your hearts will have to do, then. Thank you."
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Submitted by aurabby on Tue, Apr 11, 2023 to /r/WritingPrompts/
Full submission hereThe prompt
"Silence," the archdemon hissed to its surprised audience as it cradled an exhausted figure against its chest. "If you disturb my human's rest, I will fashion them a quilt from your hides."
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