The form floated in the night, a cloak covering a strange figure of a tall, gaunt, ghost of a man, nothing noticeable about him except for his burning golden irises and the noose around his neck, stained by an unknown fluid. The man's form wavered, never too solid. It was nighttime, a time for feeding. His form grew faint, he was fading away. He was a vampire of sorts, feeding on the sleeping. But it was not blood he required. No, Nicodemus fed on emotion, fear most often.

The thing entered the broken down home of a poor man, shingles falling off his roof and windows boarded up. He strode up the stairs, cloak floating away to show the skeleton of a man, swinging his over-sized arms as he walked.

He stopped in the hallway, before an open door, and turned slowly, his hand absentmindedly knocking on whatever was near. The creature hummed as he approached, the only sound his tired voice could produce.

He stopped before a man in a makeshift bed, sleeping comfortably on soiled linens and a pile of hay. Nicodemus knelt down beside him and placed a hand on the man's forehead. He awoke slowly, a smile on his face, until he spotted the demon kneeling beside him. Nicodemus brushed away a few hairs from the man's face and placed his hand on the man's chest, casting a spell.

The man screamed in terror of the beast that was in his home, waking up to a bonelike figure with burning eyes and a noose about it's neck. He struggled, and each time he moved, Nicodemus sent a blossom of pain into him, minor wounds opening about his body.

When he decided the fear was ripe, nicodemus leaned over and the huge, strangely round mouth enclosed the man's mouth and the man heaved as Nicodemus fed upon the man's many emotions. A drunkard, having left behind his family. A man beating his wife because he'd run out of money.

Lynx prowled through the streets, moving through the shadows she somehow knew were there. She stuck to the walls and slinked down the streets. She had been given specific instructions and had learned long ago how to measure distances and how to tell when one house ended and another began. Here is the poorer side of town it was much easier.

Lynx was on a mission. She had to find a man who had information that would help her cause. She had been told he was poor but she didn’t know just how poor he was. The houses here were so old that Lynx could smell the rust, musk, and rot. She was told he lived down this street and his house should be coming up soon on the right. He should be in bed and fast asleep not suspecting anything.

He was a sad, pathetic man and Lynx felt nothing for what she was about to do. He was a drunkard and a wife-beater. He deserved no respect and she didn’t plan on giving him any.

Lynx found the right house and moved to find the door. It wasn’t closed but it was probably because of the fact that the hinges were broken. As she entered the house screams assailed her ears. With no need to be stealthy anymore Lynx mounted the stairs into the bedroom at a dizzying speed. Once in the room she sensed another man in there.

“What are you doing!?” Lynx screamed over the man’s own horrified sounds. Lynx reached out to grab the man and rip him away but when she did so her hand sunk into his flesh a little and she pulled away, shocked. She stood for a moment stunned before she came to again. “Stop that you idiot! I need him alive.”

Nicodemus made a deep, rattling sound as he fed on the soul of the man, Feeling stronger each second. He was nearly done when a voice called for him to stop, interrupting his feeding. A hand sunk into his flesh and He started to shake a little, trembling slightly. He drew upon the last bit needed and came up from the 'kiss', back into his kneeling position just as the girl shouted for him to stop.

Nicodemus turned his head to her and stood his full height, looking down at her. He was fully solidified now, he could touch, eat, drink, cause harm. He could do most anything a normal being could. He spoke for the first time in days.

“Why...Alive?” He said, voice sounding like someone who is trying to whisper loudly. “This man... deserves to die...” He spoke. He had little quarrel with a second feeding so soon. It could only make him stronger. He rotated his head, popping several bones in his neck.

Still, fed or not, he was too new, too frail to fight anyone from this world. He did not want to fight at all. An ally may be useful. Especially in his condition. As strange as the concept was, he thought he could do it.

“No... Fighting... Please...” He said to the cat-looking woman, eyeing her carefully. Her eyes, there was something wrong with her eyes.

When he popped his bone Lynx crinkled her nose in disgust. She hated the sound of bones popping or breaking, such an annoying sound. She flicked her ears forward and studied the man, not wanting to touch him again. The sensation was one she didn’t want to feel again.

“Because he is a lot more useful alive,” She hissed, “I need him alive and then you can kill him. And you’re right he does deserve to die but not yet.” She flicked her ears to the man on the bed but couldn’t hear anything coming from him. “Did you kill him?” Lynx felt her heart sink. What was she going to tell her master if the man was dead?

Lynx crossed her arms and regarded the man. It took her a moment to respond, her main focus was to find out in the man on the bed was alive. If he was his breathing was much too faint for her to hear it. She let out a tiny sigh.

“Alright no fighting.” She hadn’t planned on it really. Unless she could get in a good hit she wasn’t one to last very long in a fight. She moved her head about the room as though she were looking around it. She felt it made people more comfortable if she acted as though she could see.

“What were you doing to him?”

Nicodemus sighed and his face remained emotionless. “Not...Dead...” He nodded and looked back at the man, as if to make sure. He hadn't fed all of it, had he? “Just... not scared anymore.” He chuckled. It was partly the truth. He had eaten away much of the part of the man's soul that created fear. Some of it was still there. The man breathed quietly, looking around the room at the two.

“Who are you?” The man said, not too hesitantly. Abaddon sensed a trace of curiosity there. He licked his lips. The man just waited for an answer. Nothing more. Abaddon seized his arm tight and wound it behind his back, popping it out of it's socket. His new strength came from the feeding, He grew more physically powerful each time he fed, but he lost touch with his magical side, the magic or fear. The more he drew upon this world, the farther he came from the plains.

“Here.” He tossed the man at Lynx's feet. The man let off a curse and a moan of pain. “Ally?” He asked her simply. He acted like little more than a child, he was not used to the ways of imythess and was still developing his motor skills.

“What... did I do? I... feed. Not blood. Fear...” He smiled and licked his lips again. The solidified voice helped him along. He was getting better at speaking, there was no more rattling to his voice. “Why do... you need him?” He struggled out.

“Here,”

Lynx felt the man land at her feet. He groaned with pain from the dislocated shoulder she had heard pop. Lynx sighed and shook her head slowly, there was no point in it. She felt the man scurry to a corner of the room and she left him there, not interested in him just yet. Right now she was focused on the man before her. Besides she could always keep an eye on the man at the same time... or ear so to speak.

“Well even if you fed on fear he's useless to me now! How am I supposed to get information out of a man who has no fear? I can't threaten him... I can't beat him... I can't do anything at the moment.” Lynx threw her hands up in frustration. He just had to pick this house to come into and feed when she needed this man for a vital part of the guild's plans.

“If you mean he's an ally, no. If you mean you are, also no. I can't trust anyone. But... I suppose we could call a truce for the moment. I also need a bit of information from you as well.” Lynx tail twitched behind her. It was one thing she could never control. It still had the instincts of a feline and so showed the emotion Lynx was feeling without her even knowing about it. Right now she was frustrated.

“I need him because... of ... things and whatnot. Oh its not important to you and its confidential. I need information from him and to get it I need him afraid. Now this is where your questioning comes into play. How much longer before his fear returns? And how afraid will he be when, or if, it does?”

Nicodemus listened to her speak, struggling to keep up. After a moment, he nodded. “A truce then.” He smiled as he felt her frustration, but shook his head. He had fed enough for a while. If he overfed, he would be permanently stuck on this plane, will have lost all powers given him by the other plane, and will be helpless.

He thought about what she said. “Could take... months. Maybe... years.” He said slowly. It could be grown back, yes but a soul took a bit more time than the body. Nicodemus frowned at her. He turned back towards the man, who was holding his arm to his side, eyes shut in pain. Nicodemus seized him by his shirt and took the man by the back of his head, pulling his head back.

Nicodemus unhinged his jaws and clamped them over the man's mouth once more, but his time a white smoky substance floated back into the man. He gave all the man had given him, and more. Nicodemus broke away from the kiss-like action and pushed the man towards lynx.

“There. Hurry.” He said. His voice was hoarse and whispy, a faint rattling in every breath. He had been left weakened, worse off than before. Nicodemus shuddered, his form wavering again. The tall demon strode over and sat in a chair wearily, seeming to sink into it.

“Months! Years!” Lynx shook her head vigorously. “I don’t have that kind of time,” She let a small sigh pass her lips. There was nothing to be done about the situation now so she would just have to deal with what she had. Which was almost nothing. A man who had no fear would never give up his secrets.

Lynx felt Nicodemus move and she stared at him oddly, unsure what to make of what he was doing. She knew it had something to do with the man but yet she had no idea what since she couldn’t see. It was annoying but she waited patiently to finish.

Lynx felt the man fall at her feet, she regarded Nicodemus with a look of confused on her face. “What did-“

“There. Hurry.”

Lynx nodded, almost understanding what he had done for her. She would be quick just as he had asked. She caught the man’s collar and dragged him over to a corner of the room. She took out her sharp claws and pressed one at the man’s eye, whispering in one of his ears. Lynx could feel him shuddering under her touch and smiled. Nicodemus had done what she had thought and for that she was grateful. The man still refused to talk and so Lynx pushed her nail harder against his eye.

Still he didn’t speak. Lynx pierced the protective layer of his eye. Liquid oozed out as the man let out a scream. Lynx clasped a hand over his mouth and dug her nails into his lips. She kept whispering to him: Promises of what were to come and the information she needed. He still didn’t answer and so she drove her nail into his eye and twisted it violently. He tried to scream again but only met the claws of her other hand. Finally he let out a little nod and she let go of her mouth.

“He lives in Taras. Rich very rich,” The man’s voice trembled as he spoke. “He goes by the Torence now but he is the one you want. Many people go to him for advice, he holds hangings in his yard sometimes and praises Yusha.” Lynx nodded and pulled her nail out of his eye with a yelp from the man.

“He’s all yours,” Lynx moved to another corner of the room and sat, waiting for Nicodemus to finish feeding.

Nicodemus sat in the chair, watching her torture him with hunger in his eyes. The man's frenzied fear drove him nearly insane. He wanted to just dive out, to devour the man's entire soul. But he had promised the assassin he would not. Not yet, anyway.

He watched with amusement as her nail punctured his eye and the man's fear rose to a whole new level. He knew she was serious, and had recognized the intent of the tall, starved-looking thing that sat in the chair not far away from him, staring at him with flaring yellow eyes.

The girl finished and he sighed, getting out of the chair and walking over to him calmly. After a couple of spells, he had the man frozen in fear and hopelessness, unable to move.

Nicodemus placed a palm on his chest and unhinged his jaw, clamping on the man's mouth. With a great rattling, the room cooled a few degrees and he took back the soul he had given, continued feeding on and on until the man dropped to the floor, lifeless. There wasn't a mark on him, just glazed eyes and death twitches.

Nicodemus stood to his full height and breathed normally, looking at the cat woman curiously. “Nicodemus...” He said quietly.

Lynx felt the room grow colder. She sat and waited patiently however until he was done. When he finally spoke again she didn’t hear the other man move. She listened for a moment yet couldn’t even feel him breathe. Before she answered Nicodemus she walked over and reached down to touch the man. Lynx had felt death many times and knew that when she touched him he’d be dead. True to her suspicious he was cooling already.

“Lysanne,” She rose from the ground and faced Nicodemus. “So you... ate his fear?” She seemed to consider this for a moment. In truth she found the idea really cool! But she wouldn’t say it to this man. “Interesting... and probably untraceable. I’m impressed.” Lynx smiled and nodded at him in approval.

She flicked her ears around the room, her skin was crawling with gooseflesh, and her nose was assaulted with awful smells. It really was a dump and somewhere she didn’t wish to stay in very longer. “What do you normally do after you feed? Because I may be blind but this place can still offend all my other senses.”

“Ate soul... Fear is... a way in” He grinned at the cat woman, even if she couldn't see him. “Very untraceable... not a mark... unless I want to...” He chuckled mischievously. He had recalled several times when he had given into blood lust, doing some dirty deeds, such as murdering a little girl's mother before her very eyes for fun.

Nicodemus shrugged. “I go... wherever my hunger... takes me...” He said in his low voice, echoing slightly in his stomach. Nicodemus sniffed the air and frowned. This man was a filthy one, it appeared. There was cheese forming from excess milk left on tables, rotting food, and mildewed cloths. Nicodemus could smell them all, the soul repairing wounds as well as heightening all of his own senses.

“Let us... leave...” He said with a disgusted tone.

Perhaps he had made himself a new friend.