Amare Flos (Demon Slayer)

Chapter 3: A Change of Heart

It was quiet. Too quiet, the calm in the middle of Final Selection didn't go well together. Eira didn't handle the unexpected peace of the forest well, with the knowledge of a possible demon attack at any time she was almost always paranoid of any movement. Eira had no idea how much time had passed by since the beginning, however, she was exhausted, the trip from her mountain to Final Selection in combination with all the walking she was doing across the forest had taken a toll on her, her legs barely stood upright, she just wanted to lay down. Eira's heavy eyes searched for somewhere she could just sit down for a while, she was adamant that she wouldn't fall asleep or let her guard down. Eira's eyes were drawn to a particular trunk of a tree, in which plants surrounded, a single ray of sunlight shone on the singular tree as if it was some holy area. The sheer beauty of the area was enough to put one at calm, Eira was captivated by the sight of an area where she could rest and mindlessly walked to the tree like a zombie.

Eira sighed and sat at the base of the tree, her whole body relaxed as she took a deep breath, the sunlight shone on her and provided a warm relief. Eira's blonde hair shone in comparison to the dull colours of the forest. The wind slightly massaged Eira's face as her tight grip on her sword loosened. Her muscles relaxed and her body was covered in a therapeutic warmth. Her tiredness had finally caught up with her, her eyes closed very slowly. Her arms fell to her side and her legs stretched out as her back leaned on the wide base of the tree, the soft grass made for a good platform, the forest rung with crickets crying, birds chirping and the sunlight dancing around on the floor as occasionally the leaves made way for it to peek through. Eira had forgotten the most important unspoken rule of Final Selection. Never let your guard down.

Eira took a deep breath, she hadn't felt this calm in... years. Her sword finally slipped out of her grip and plopped on the ground as her head tilted backwards and touched the coarse bark of the cold tree. Eira whole body was put into a great comfort, it sort of felt like if vines were wrapping around her entire body and slowly tightening. Wait.

In a hurry, Eira opened her rest-deprived eyes, her eyes met with a hideous sight. Her arms and legs were enveloped by thick and fleshy tentacles. She grunted as she desperately jolted to try reach her sword, which was just centimetres away from her fingers, suddenly the tentacles tightened and pushed her backwards. Her sword becoming even out of reach. Eira's eyes darted forward, a dark green coloured demon stood there, the tentacles sprouted out of its forward facing arms. The demon has no face, no eyes, no mouth. It was just a pale green figure with slight remains of arms and legs from its short and stubby body. It must've caught Eira when she was resting. The demon slightly tilted its small head, Eira was ashamed that she let her guard down and this demon sneak up on her so freely. Eira screamed, as loud as she could, she just prayed that someone was near enough to save her. A tentacle slapped across her face, it pressed against her mouth which disabled her from screaming. Eira still relentlessly struggled in the unyielding tentacles that only grew tighter and tighter around her whole body. At this rate she would be popped like a balloon.

She tried to force the vines open but she had no luck, she moved her limbs unpredictably just purely squirming like a worm in a bird's talons. She thought if she squirmed enough the vines would stretch enough they'd break. She grunted as she violently did everything she possibly could to escape the grasp of the demon. Her desperate struggle didn't contribute to anything, the tentacles weren't anywhere close to breaking. Eira's face had turned a bright red from all the strength she put into this. Her head turned towards her limbs, they were numb with pain, they showed signs of blood loss. Both her legs had turned an awful violet, the colour when you'd tightly tie a rope around your finger and wait for a while as it turned blue. Eira's eyes started to form tears as she squirmed more and more. The demon seemed to let out a sound of excitement, a slight giggle, so sudden and so paralysing. Eira felt a thinner tentacle wrap around her neck.