"A 'badass', you say?" Adeline mocked. "I've had my demon for awhile, about a month or so. But I could always receive instruction from someone with such an favorably rude posterior, if I can rely upon your word."<br/><br/>A grin came across the blind sage's face as she walked. From what she heard, the training his proteges underwent was not very gentle. She wasn't sure what the training would accomplish for her, despite the blade hidden within her walking stick, her abilities weren't entirely suited for battle. Adeline was able to manipulate the properties of the air they breath to give her comrades a boost in stamina, and provide a healing agent to help wounds heal faster. Twas an unusual ability for a demon as annoying as Tiresias. While she detested fighting, she wasn't defenseless in a combat situation. If she couldn't hold her own in a fight, she wouldn't be alive this very moment anyway.<span style="font-style: italic">Maybe that is something Sir Taveirn can help me with,</span>she thought.<br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>In a distant alleyway, an obscured figure stood under the shadow's embrace. It seemed no bigger than 5'10". The being had bright hair that contrasted the curtain of darkness, a very light blonde that seemed like it was almost bleached, but it retained enough color to differentiate itself ever so slightly. It's length was very short, but feathered in random directions. The deep crimson eyes the figure contained shined against the shadows, fluttering about uncontrollably as the red-haired girl walked within it's field of vision.<br/><br/>"At last..." it sighed, ambling ever so slowly forward into the light that illuminated the streets.<br/><br/>The figure appeared to be male, for the most part. The tone of the voice could belong to both genders, but the appearance was somewhat more masculine than feminine. He wore a brown, long sleeved jacket with a red shirt underneath. A white stripe extended from the shoulders of the jacket to the end of the sleeve. A blue pair of jeans and brown leather shoes joined the very generic ensemble of clothing. He would pass for an ordinary bystander if not for the crazed, crimson eyes and the large butcher knife brandished in his hand. The trio of hunters had already passed by the time he stepped out of the safe embrace of the darkness.<br/><br/>"Him. The one! The man next to Sam!" he commanded. "He's the one. The one who you said was manipulating her!"<br/><br/>The young man plunged his knife into the wall of a building as he spoke, clearly showing a display of anger with the ferocity of his strike and the heavy breathing that followed.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">He is the one trying to drive you apart. Only with his death will you be able to get close to her,</span>instructed a voice echoing within his mind.<br/><br/>"Of course!" the man yelled, plunging his knife into the wall once more. "I'll kill him! I'll kill them all! Everyone! Sam can only be mine... only mine...!"<br/><br/>The blonde man unearthed the weapon from the wall, having no place to carry it, he simply held it in hand. He turned around to face the direction in which Sam and the others went, as she slowly ambled toward them. His movements were almost like a walking corpse, drifting carelessly to only seek it's sole purpose in life.<br/><br/>-----------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>For a moment, Adeline could hear the faint murmurs from afar. Her attention was divided, and she could not make out the words, but she knew they were not alone. She attempted to focus on the sound, attempting to pinpoint where it was. Suddenly, pain shot through her skull as the noise quickly turned to an ear-piercing screech. Within the chaos seemed to be quiet whispers of human speech, but the loud noise that drowned out the voices. The painful sound made her lose balance and topple over, only lifting herself by her cane. The pain soon subsided, along with the ringing in her ears. She managed to pull herself up by her cane, her right hand placing itself on her forehead.<br/><br/>"Someone or... something is here," she warned.