[Other FULL] Stella Matutina: DEMON HUNTERS [OOC] [M]

From the ceiling fell several drops of what was assumed to be water, the darkness within couldn't pierce more than a few centimeters in any direction even with the aid of light, in the form of fire. As each drop hit the floor its echo reverberated as if it were several thousand. A blasted cave. Great. It wasn't as if there was some unspoken fear dwelling deep inside Naida, it was more so that her talent and skills weren't going to be effectively showcased in such treacherous lighting. A torch burned in her left hand as she cased the cave, a sound from behind them caught her attention, but before she had time to investigate noise up ahead caught her attention.

To think that mere hours ago she had been asleep in her bed, until she had received a message via Sandro knocking on the walls of her room. They had successfully tracked the demon that had been destroying minor villages along the border through its underlings. Naida had insisted they hunted it down with vigor after the village next to hers was struck by the beast. Reports from the incident said that it was a wild bear, others said it was a large bird, a large portion of it was unreliable. Those that didn't possess belief didn't have The Sight therefore couldn't accurately identify demon's in their true form.

Her eyes connected with Sandro's, they were always in sync and alert. There was bound to be some individuals that would beg to be in Naida's position, minus the whole hunting down demons to stop them from causing chaos, and have the chance to stare into Sandro's brown eyes that were a shade lighter than her own. He had all the characteristics that society deemed as handsome, a chiseled jaw, muscles (plenty of those), a devilishly handsome smile, and to top it off he wasn't a jackass. Sandro was sweet, kind, and caring. It was quite obvious to anyone that looked at his neck, Naida had grown skilled in spotting the difference between hickies and actual bruises, he had plenty of suitors, but he never sought after them for more than a night of comfort. It was the risk factor, one day Sandro would leave for a hunt and never come back, at least that's what Naida assumed. He was too considerate to put anyone through the pain of losing a loved one.

Sandro raised a hand to signal to them to stop, it also meant that they were close to the lair of the head demon. A smile formed on Naida's face, Sandro wasn't even the leader of the group, but he led effortlessly. He refused time and time again, so the rest of them all pretended as if he wasn't their leader. Skilled in medicine and healing, Sandro was their most valued member of the team. His touch was… refreshing, perhaps not in the way that others enjoyed it.

"We have guests," Ederch whispered, his voice barely audible to Naida and she was standing right next to him.

Nerves were never an issue for Naida, her fingers tightened around her staff and pulled it forward in front of her in one deliberate motion. It took a lot of work for her to track down this demon and there wasn't any way in the seven circles of hell she was going to be taken down now. Naida's breath was still until the first of six came into view. Relief settled in and a smile blessed her face, as she lowered her staff. It was only Biel. There was no mistaking that goofy grin that was the opposite of her serious set face. Within seconds he had wrapped (read: crushed) her in his arms, one of his famous hugs. Naida could never manage to wiggle free, however that never stopped her from trying.

Her old friend simply continued on smiling then spoke to her in his native tongue, Portugués, "It's good to see you!" Despite growing up in a predominantly Spanish speaking country, Naida spoke Portugués as well. It was because her village was right on the border of Brazil and Peru. Naida never spoke Portugués to Biel, he always spoke in his native tongue and Naida in hers, it felt more natural that way. "At first, we couldn't tell if you were another hunting party or a group of demons at first." Biel rattled on, Naida nodded to show that she was indeed paying attention to what he had said. Her struggling movements were proving fruitless until Biel released her from his firm grip and laughed, that's what Naida missed the most, his laugh. The way his face crinkled up, coming to life with as the laugh continued, it was probably one of Naida's favorite sights to take in. "I assume you guys are here for that bat-like demon?" Biel asked as his eyes scanned over her group then settled back on her.

"Sim," interjected Andrea in Portugués. It wasn't long until she held out her hand to Biel with a sickening (at least, to Naida) smile and batted her eyes, the techniques of seduction were clearly in play. Naida couldn't help but roll her eyes, Andrea was practically dripping with eagerness to form a connection with Biel. She was always looking for the next guy to… conquer. Naida had to resist every urge to not barf, when she introduced herself (still in Portugués) in a sickly sweet voice, "O meu nome é Andrea, como você se chama?"

"Gabriel," Biel answered her, short and sweet. "O prazer é meu!" He shook her hand, Biel had a habit of being oblivious to advances from women.

"What she said," Naida managed to huff out. She did miss Biel, even if he did tend to ramble so much that she couldn't exactly keep up with the conversation, it was more like he was having a conversation with himself. Naida had actually witness him do it once upon a time. "We were just able to head in, when Ederch pointed out your presence. We're glad you're not a group of demons, which have oddly been sparse."

"We noticed that," he said to her. "There is probably an antechamber or something farther inside, but... I thought there was going to be more traffic coming and going as well."

"Right," Naida said as she looked over her friend, noticing had he had accumulated a few new scars as well as a few new companions. The rest of his group interacted with hers sans Andrea who couldn't help but doting look at Biel. No one would ever look at her like that in a million years. Naida crossed her arms and fidgeted with her locket, moving it back and forth. She couldn't help but feel self-conscious, Andrea was everything she wasn't, slender, charming, and beautiful. Perfectly straight hair and teeth. The way Andrea dressed, the way she walked and talked were all overwhelming breathtaking in their own unique ways. Even after a fight she was a sight comparable to a wonder of the world. To get her mind off of it, off of everything she wasn't, Naida asked, "Shall we get started?"

"I'll let your group lead the way," Biel said to her.

Naida nodded, as Sandro proceeded further into the cave. She looked back to see Biel wave his hand to the rest of his group, a signal to follow. Naida could hardly believe that he was the leader of the group. As one group, albeit a large one, they moved forward into the cave system, remaining as quiet as possible. Who knew what other demons lurked in the darkness that not even the torch could penetrate. Before long they found themselves in the right spot. How did Naida know this? Well, the horde of demons that greeted them as they entered the room.

"Looks like we've found the spot," said one of Biel's men in a husky voice. Naida couldn't agree more.

A key was retrieved from her hand, to anyone else it was a simple, silver key. In Naida's hands it was a summoning tool. Power surged through her and into the key, invoking whatever was within to come out. An adolescent bear appeared next to Naida, Vancho, her familiar. To the human eye, he was simply a regular looking bear cub, nothing more, nothing less. To them his head was absent of two ivory horns, his snout wasn't twisted into an ebony horn, and his pelt was most certainly not made out of quills. To those who knew of and could see demons his true appearance was shown.

Naida watched as Biel's crew spread out upon his order. Since Sandro technically wasn't the leader he didn't give out many commands, they had worked out a strategy some time ago and it was utilized each time. A few tweaks here and there if the hunt was of a different or difficult nature. Sandro was a healer, he stayed at the back guarded by Andrea and Ederch, a long range fighter and a sacerdote respectively. Paloma was a close combat kind of girl, and was always in the middle of the action. As an invocador Naida located herself beside Sandro until her summonings were complete then she took her staff launched herself in the thickest bits of the fighting.

In this room they were among demons of all shapes and sizes, winged-demons, demons with scales, demons that looked like they were made from sludge. The specifics of their appearance really didn't matter all too much because they would all fall shortly. Naida pulled out two tarots card from her back, left pocket and located her knife. Blood dripped from her clenched fist that she had just cut with her knife onto the two cards. When she was done Naida ripped the cards in half. Two demons sprung forth into existence, they weren't the strongest in Naida's collection, but they'd do in a pinch. An assessment of the battle was required before she sent out heavy hitters. Tarot cards summonings were one and done, after she no longer required the demon's summonings their contract was over. They were also on the weaker side, stronger demons contracts needed to be tethered to a magical item or something of more permanence.

Water demons was what she had summoned, they looked as if they were made from water because they were. One was more humanoid and it rode on the back of the other, that one had the appearance of a shark except it had red dots for eyes. They charged into battle, Naida looked for Biel. His specialty was possessing demons, a deadly practice as he had to leave his body to take on theirs. It left him very vulnerable if he wasn't being guarded.

By the time Naida entered actual combat the group had eliminated most of the demons in a timely manner. Her staff glowed as it spouted pestilence in the form of spores in the directions of those demons that still remained. The occasional glance around the room let her know that everything was going smoothly. Biel had a slight tendency of being a bit… reckless, but perhaps he had grown during their time apart. It was time for the boss demon, the one that was causing the majority of the damage done to the surrounding villages. All that was left now was to check out the hole in the ground. Great…

***

Blood, sweat, and tears were what Naida had to show after the fight. There wasn't any tears, but she felt like crying, okay, no, she didn't. The boss demon who was a large, demonic bat was an interesting creature. Eleven on one, the odds had been stacked in their favor. They should've won an award for "fastest time killing a killer bat demon thing", if that were a thing that is.

One of the men from Biel's group came up to her and him afterwards. He spoke some tale about a demon hunting academy in America, Morning Star. Apparently, he was a recruiter of some sort for them. Naida couldn't leave her family, who would take care of her siblings? Her mother would be overwhelmed. The offer was generous except it was badly timed, Naida had no choice but to hold off on a decision. Too many things needed to be sorted out before she could commit to something of this caliber.