Isaac Cykes had followed his betrothed to this godforsaken forest purely because he was worried about her. How could she survive without him? He had to make sure to watch over her and take care of her. It was a man's job, afterall. Isaac had a good relationship with professor Zalar and asked him to put a tracking beacon on her Gem. That way, no matter where she ran to, he could always catch her. He had assembled several of his buddies just to make sure it was safe, but he had not been following his beloved for long when he heard her scream. Her scream frayed Isaac's nerves in more ways than one. His beloved was screaming, so he must rush to comfort her! On the other hand, that unfaithful bitch screamed the name of that flirtatious wench she always hangs around. They must be separated! That red-headed woman is deceiving his poor delicate flower!

When he finally found his beloved's signal in a cave, he put on his most approachable smile and couldn't wait to surprise her, but what he saw infuriated him! A magicless pair rested without care. Worse still, the woman wore his wife's gem! Some initiates had stolen his woman's gem! He knew very well that they were peasants, Zalar had told him about the deficient bracelets. He could also see that neither of them had accumulated any magic power. He didn't think these two could hurt his woman, she was a mage, afterall. They must have stolen it or deceived her. Thinking about how distraught she must be, his heart clenched.

However, what really infuriated him was this shameless hunter peasant. No matter what he did to him or his woman, he wouldn't flinch! It was maddening. He couldn't get under this damn bastard's skin at all! The damn fool even asked him for dinner. When he offered food the bastard actually said,

"I don't want any of your shit! I only eat my wife's food!"[Neidr] Thinking about it more, though, this relaxed his nerves a little. He could understand all too well the sentiment. If he could ever get his betrothed to cook for him, he was sure he wouldn't eat anything else either. Thinking this far, he waved his hand and accepted the demand. It wouldn't matter anyway, he'd kill this fool as soon as his wife was found. Isaac's interest was peaked with the request, though, this man didn't seem to care much about anything, but his wife's dish. Was it that good?

"Sure, have her make some for everyone."[Isaac] What he didn't expect was to find a nice prize.

"NOOOOO MY WIFE ONLY COOKS FOR ME ONLY ME!"[Neidr] Isaac smirked, he could get to this fellow in this fashion?

"Today your wife cooks for us,"[Isaac] Isaac smiled devilishly and said, "If you keep making a ruckus, then you will be the only one who isn't fed."[Isaac]

"NOOO YOU CAN"T MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE"[Neidr] Isaac started to laugh, it felt so good to crack a tough nut.

"Hold him down."[Isaac] two of his friends walked over and held the man down as he struggled relentlessly, Isaac pointed to the woman and said,

"Cook me something good."[Isaac] The woman, whose eyes had been dull this entire time, seemed to have a fire lighted in her soul.

"I'll have to gather some ingredients."[Arrieta] Isaac nodded and said,

"Make something good, your husband's life depends on it." [Isaac] The woman began to shiver and he sent her out with Gerald to collect ingredients.

Finally, he had shown these peasants their place. When the woman came in with a full bowl of food, he smelled it and was pleasantly surprised. Just by the smell alone, it might be one of the best things he ever ate. He and his followers brought out their bowls, and the woman emotionlessly poured the soup into them. The look of resentment hidden in her eyes really tickled him. Almost as good as looking at his wife. The peasant man was raving at this point, and they all joyously took their first bite to the melodious sound of suffering.

The flavors danced on his tongue as he savored the flavor, he ate with glee, but slowly he started to feel strange. He was getting dizzy and... his... thoughts... slowed... down. He was tired, really tired. He closed his eyes to rest for just a moment and collapsed.

***

Neidr watched all of them fall to the floor one by one. He looked over to Azalea and asked,

"dead?" She just shook her head,

"Asleep, for probably three hours at least." [Arrieta] He nodded and methodically removed any medium or mana tool they may have had on them, and then tied them up. He sat down and let out a huge sigh. Don't be confused, Neidr was not so merciful to let them live, he just had some questions...

He was honestly surprised that worked. He had hoped that the blond's sadistic tendencies would take him over, and luckily enough... Well, the real linchpin this time was... Neidr looked over to Arrieta and said,

"You've saved my life again."[Neidr] Arrieta let out a little smile and said,

"Seems so, but you saved me first, let's call it even."[Arrieta] There was a long silence and Neidr couldn't help, but smirk and say,

"Wifey, how about fixing up my wounds"[Neidr] Arrieta jumped up and hollered,

"Whose your wife!? I oughta beat you silly!"[Arrieta]

"You wouldn't beat a patient, would you?"[Neidr] Arrieta stomped her foot and started to say,

"Why if you weren't wounded then I'd..."[Arrieta] Seeing Neidr's playful face she thought of when they just met. Then she started to laugh. She laughed and laughed and laughed until she cried.

***(EXTRA)

It was wrong. Arrieta knew it fully well. She was wrong. She thought about it over and over again, but no matter what her heart wanted to scream at her, she knew that she would have to make the same decision again. That is, until she was awoken up by a fist to the gut. People she didn't know beat her, and she knew that this was heaven's wrath. Yes, this was what she deserved, but Neidr... He was here too, she owed him too much and even after helping her this time, he got caught up in her punishment. She wanted to call out to him, to save him, but she had no strength. Neidr, though, acted as if it was all nothing. As if nothing at all could bother him, even faced with this. Feeling useless, Arrieta listened to their words and fell into self-hatred. Weren't these the people she should have slain? Every word of that blonde initiate enraged her. Everytime he hit Neidr, she would fantasize of skinning the bastard alive. Then something strange happened, Neidr asked for her to cook for him. She had never feed him before, though... Not understanding, she looked into his eyes and saw it. That look he had when planning something. She didn't know how to describe it, other than a small spark of joy in his eyes. She wanted to smile, but held herself back. She knew what she had to do.

What were these little demons when faced with her devil?