"Who's this "she" you're talking about?" Flarem asked, still sorting the coins. He didn't bother to face me.

"Svi. She's a woman I met when I was still alive. She probably thinks I'm dead."

"How do you know Svi?"

"It's from my time as an assassin. I did almost every job, but this was a time where I mainly focused on killing. We were contracted to kill each other. Long story short, we found out that someone contracted both of us and killed them instead. After,... adult stuff. I was twenty at the time."

"So you stole from an assassin that you used to know. Well, you're screwed," Flarem stated, looking at me with pity.

"Why's that?"

"Won't she be angry?"

"Nah. She's cool. I'll go and find her tomorrow. I should probably put her coins to the side and return them."

"Why tomorrow?" Flarem puzzled, stretching as he finished separating.

"We just stole a bunch of coins. Let's spend it! I'm heading to the tavern. We can buy so much booze."

I was lustfully thinking of alcohol. Flarem had a look of uncertainty on his face.

"I'm good for today. I'm strangely not in the mood. You can bring Meralf if you'd like. I just don't want him getting me into trouble, or bed, with someone else."

"Yeah. I guess if you don't want to go. I'm still pissed off at him a little, though," I said, my head slightly hot.

"Why?"

"It's unimportant. He just did something I asked him not to. I think we need to talk."

"I won't pry for answers."

"Thanks. I'll make sure he turns back into you right after."

Flarem used his summoning magic. Blood fell from his eyes, and familiar shapes came. Nequam and the albino tiger formed. Flarem sighed.

"Why's it always Nequam?"

"Did you try summoning a different demon?"

"Yeah. It never works."

"You can summon Nequam and an animal now. You're getting better. You haven't even switched yet. That shows you're beginning to be able to store more magic," I consoled. He looked a bit better.

"Yeah. I guess. I'm almost out, thou..gh."

Flarem looked as if he fazed out as the blood returned to his eyes. He shook his head, eyes opening yellow.

"We going to go?" Meralf asked, grinning.

"Yes."

I still felt angry at Meralf. I hadn't been showing it too much, but I hated what he did. He made me kill a child. He made me go against my morals. I'd stared at my blood soaked hands while he decided to eat them. I wanted to get over it, so I figured we should try to talk. After sitting in the back of the vomit smelling tavern, ordering, and receiving our drinks, I decided to address the matter.

"You realize we need to talk, right?"

Meralf stared at me with a serious tone, his face in his drink. He quickly chugged it, signaling for another.

"Yeah. You're angry. I don't see why, though."

"I told you not to kill them, and you continued anyway. You taunted me. Don't forget, I can erase you," I warned, a scowl on my face. He changed to his grin, foam on his upper lip.

"I know you have that capability, but I'm going to do something if I want to."

"You can't do what you want if you're gone."

Meralf finished another beer. He gave a huge smirk, chuckling. I glared at him.

"Ease up, Nocri. I want to. We're supposed to be demons. I'm the only one acting like it."

He looked at me seriously again. My glare increased in strength.

"Don't give me that crap. I'm a demon, but you're unstable."

"If you're a demon, why can't you kill children? They aren't our species anymore. It's like veal. You don't see people crying over the calf," Meralf tried to reason, giving me the urge to tear his head off.

"Those who kill calves weren't once a cow."

"Can you explain to me why you can't kill them?"

Meralf broke me, sending my rage surging. My unmoving heart felt like it would burst into flames.

"Because I was never given a chance as a child! Is that what you want to hear?! I can't take the future from them!" I shouted, my voice deep. People stared at the table. I calmed down, glaring at the people to go back to their business. Meralf's face turned sympathetic.

"I didn't know that... I won't do it again."

"I just... can't detach from my past. I've been trying, but I can't stop thinking about my mistakes. I want to move on, but I'm too entwined."

"I shouldn't have pushed an answer out of you. I can feel your magic building up. I know how much the past can hurt, and I don't think I can forgive anyone," Meralf said, his voice quiet. I was calming down, but I felt depressed.

"I can except some. Our world has just gotten so far lost. Humans sin so much, but the gods forgive easily. It makes it seem as if you can do anything without repercussion. It's a cycle of pain. Someone's hurt, causing them to either want revenge or hurt those unrelated."

"This world would be better if it had a new beginning."

"We could create a new beginning. Once we take over, we could attempt to fix everything," I suggested, feeling good about the choice. It's something that I definitely want to accomplish.

"That sounds good. Fixing might feel better than destroying everything."

"We need to destroy before we can fix. Can I count on you?"

"Yes. We need Flarem to plan out how we could restart, though."

"I know how to restart the humans. Children are the future, so they will be the ones to live."

"This feels weird. Demons are giving hope for the future. Who would've thought?" Meralf pointed out. It was definitely strange. He drank more of his beer, gasping when he finished.

"It makes sense. We're created from hate and anger. Humans turn some of their own into demons to destroy the corruption that created them."

"Aren't angels supposed to be the ones to spread hope?"

"They make you think that, but they just want to protect life in general. It keeps the bad in the world. All life isn't equal. Some lives are meant to be extinguished. Their noble duty isn't working," I detailed, speaking from the heart.

"Demons and angels both suck at their jobs. It's comical. Are we on good terms, now?"

"It's hard staying angry at you. Don't act on impulse next time."

"I prefer staying on friendly terms with you. This'll be fun. For now, let's drink up. I'm still sober."

"Sounds like a problem."

Our faces changed from the serious ones. Meralf is a good friend, he just makes bad decisions. I wanted to forgive him, so things played out relatively well. We even created a meaningful goal.

I started pouring the alcohol down my throat. It washed away the odd bitter taste I had within my mouth. I wanted to hurry, as my blood was working its curse of sobering. Meralf's cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. He was drinking noticeably faster than me. The server visited with more beer every so often.

"How're you doing, Meralf?"

"I feel.. pretty drunk. I can keep going. I'm... fine," Meralf stuttered, returning to his drink.

"Just keep saying that... I don't think you're fine."

"My blood is already fixing it. I'll be okay. At least there aren't hangovers anymore."

"If there were, you'd surely regret this. So would I. Oh well. Bottoms up!" I cheered, chugging. Each gulp felt comforting. Meralf grinned, putting his mug near his face.

"You said it."

It was a long day, so I was perfectly fine with getting messed up. Meralf somehow managed to look perfectly fine, no matter how drunk he was. His cheeks were just slightly pink. No swaying or stumbling occurred, which was a big difference from Flarem.

"What's up with that assassin girl you stole from? Are you actually going to return her coins?"

"Svi's a... friend."

"Women are crazy, and an assassin woman sounds even worse," Meralf joked, though it was definitely a true statement.

"You'd be right with that assumption. She's gotten... messy with her killing. I found her soaked in gore a few times."

"How long were you friends?"

"After we first met, I stumbled upon her a few more times, even when I wasn't assassinating anyone. When I was twenty-three, I owned a small house in my town. After seeing her enough, we ended up dating. We were in a relationship when I died... I wonder if she still looks after my house, as she did live in it, too," I reminisced, feeling saddened. I can't believe I forgot about someone as important as Svi.

"How the hell didn't you recognize her when you stole from her?"

"Her hair is longer. Besides, I didn't think I'd see her again."

"How's she going to feel about what you've been doing with other women? You're still in a relationship. You never broke it off."

"She knows how I am. It'll be fine... I hope."

"Hehe. You're mortally screwed," Meralf jested, pointing and laughing at me.

"Whatever. If anything, she should be happy to see me. I don't want to think of this anymore. I'm sobering up."

"Sounds like a problem."

Meralf had a grin on his face. He looked surprisingly ominous. Flarem couldn't look scary if he tried, but Meralf regularly looked the part.

After an hour or so, we decided to head back to the inn. He was still Meralf, though.

"Are you going to switch back? You haven't sent back your demons. They're in the streets disguised as humans still."

"I want to sleep in this state. I never get to. Is it weird?" Meralf asked, his head slightly tilted.

"A little. You can if you want."

"It gets boring when I can't do anything. Flarem rarely takes risks. I like it when I'm out."

"If you're bored, why do you want to sleep?" I questioned, as it was a weird thing for him to say.

"I can't see Flarem's dreams for some reason. For the period of time when he sleeps, I don't feel anything. I have no thoughts or feeling of any sort, so I don't like that time. I can dream when I'm here, though. You can see why I'd want to."

"Yeah."

Right after we were ready to sleep, you thought it would be a great time to come. Stop coming at night. Come in the morning if you have to. You piss me off.