Aizawa couldn't stop frowning. The motley crew marched along the river in silence, winding their way back towards the village that hired him. Hizashi had refused to let go of the shivering cat demon all night, choosing to sit before the fire and make sure she stayed warm. He had let him because frankly, he wasn't sure what had just happened. They had hidden from the locals and slipped off before any trouble started. Every thing was back on track and she was too involved in her own mental battles to fight him right now. It should have been peaceful.
But the silence weighed on him in more ways than one. He was the first to break it as the shadows on the sand lengthened. "Lunchtime."
The demons stopped when he did, Elly's nose testing the air as she always did when they sat for any amount of time. She waited until he sat before gauging the absolute farthest she could stay from him. Hizashi, meanwhile, had his sights set on the river.
"Want me to get some fish? My fingers are itching, you know. Plus some fresh food would be nice." He flexed his hands, the binding cuffs on his wrists flashing in the sun.
Aizawa grunted in approval and moved closer to the water so the demon could do his thing. He laughed in sheer joy as he began zapping fish out of the water and picking them up. Elly sat, still quiet, with her back to both of them.
"Why are you such odd colors... and striped?" She said nothing. He rubbed the stubble on his cheek, watching as her long, furry tailtips swished back and forth. "Cat. Answer me."
Bound by magic, she was forced to answer. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about it, and her voice dripped malice as she spoke. "My mistress liked these colors and this pattern."
"So you used to be a housecat."
Hizashi was returning with his robe held up, a good catch of fish half-cooked inside it. Aizawa began the process of spitting them as his familiar started a small fire. Elly hadn't been prompted to speak, so it startled him when she glanced over her shoulder and asked something voluntarily.
"Can I be killed?"
"I would need more info on how you became a demon in order to know that. Hizashi here, for instance, will only fall out of existence if people forget about him."
"Yeah," the blond demon agreed, drooling over the cooking fish, "If humans deny my existence, I'm out."
"Ah." She shrugged. "In that case, I don't need to know."
"I'm curious now."
"Too bad!"
Aizawa walked up behind her and set a firm hand on her shoulder. She flinched away but he squeezed. "Tell me."
"You damned filthy mouse!" Her ears were laid back in pain as she resisted. "I don't want to tell you!"
"Human or mouse, you're bound to my will. Speak."
Hizashi winced as she screamed, still fighting the urge to comply. "Uh, Aizawa - do you really need to be that rough with her?"
"I need to know!" He rounded on his companion, his eyes burning and his hands clenched into fists. "The more I can learn about demons, the easier it will be to wipe you all out of existence."
"Ouch." The thunder demon pulled a stake off the fire and munched thoughtfully as he watched. "You've got issues, you know."
He ignored this and shook her, hard. "<i>Speak, cat demon</i>! Tell me your sins!"
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