She wiped a tear from her eye and stood up, dusting off her night gown. She looked around and held her stuffed animal tighter. She took a step towards her house and sat down with her head in her hands.
He spotted the young human as he was hunting. The smell coming off of her was a strange mixture of fear and sadness. But this fear was not pointed at him (like every time before). He made a clicking sound to inform her that he was behind her, the feathers on his face lay flat to make him appear smaller for her. She turned around to face him and leapt backwards,
"WHo- whAt are you??"
She stammered. He sat down and crossed his legs, his tail curled around the front of him and rested in the grass.
"I am a demon, as you humans call us."
He placed a clawed hand on his feathered chest in greeting,
"Who might you be? And what are you so afraid of? Your fear is very strong."
He tilted his head and his neck cracked.
"Uhm.. I'm Hope.. and.. I don't.. want to go home.."
She wrapped her arms around her night gown and looked down.
"Well you should. If any other demon found you, you would be in their stomach."
She looked up at him confused,
"Why aren't you eating me?"
"I don't eat humans. Their flesh is too hard to tear with my teeth"
He flashes her a toothy grin to reveal four rows of tiny canines. They talked for a while, she told him the names of all her stuffed animals, and she told him what is going on in her home that makes her so scared.
"I'll tell you what, I'll give you a sigil to summon me if you ever feel afraid again. I'll deal with it so you aren't scared."
He looks her in the eyes, his horns flashed green then blue. Hope nodded. The demon grabbed a stick and flattened the earth in front of him. He drew a circle with three lines coming out of it and joining in the center, then he drew two overlapping circles inside it.
"Got it?"
Hope looked at the sigil and shook her head.
"Ah. Hmm.. let's practice."
He stood and went a few feet away from her,
"Try drawing it again"
He told her as he crouched in the grass. She took a deep breath and drew the sigil, blue smoke rolled around the symbol and the demon appeared when the smoke disappeared. Hope smiled at him and clapped her hands. He bowed.
"Are you ready to go back-"
"What should I call you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"What's your name?"
The demon thought for a while.
"You won't be able to pronounce it. Just- call me whatever you want."
Hope nodded and looked over him and said,
"What about Peacock?"
"Hmm.. do you know Latin?"
"No.."
"Pavo is Peacock in Latin."
"Pavo! That's a nice name! Your name is Pavo now."
Hope smiled brightly and that made Pavo smile. He tapped his tail on the ground and looked toward her house. He stood up and offered a clawed paw to her.
"Ready?"
Her eyebrows furrowed, but she took his paw in her hand.
"Wait."
"What is it?"
She handed him the stuffed animal she was carrying.
"His name is Lily, he will keep you company"
"Thank you Hope"
He took Lily and examined it. He smiled at Hope and gestured for her house. He felt her grip on his paw tighten. He wiped the sigils away with his tail and walked her toward her house.
"Don't be afraid Hope."
He let go of her hand and bounded off into the grass, still holding on to Lily. Hope stepped into her house and ran to her room.
It has been three weeks since Pavo has heard from Hope. He lay on his back in his home and looked to his left at Lily, the stuffed animal Hope gave him. He was getting worried. His tail twitched and his ears listened for anything outside of his cave. He crossed his legs and sat up. He stretched and yawned, showing off his rows of fangs. His forked tounge flicked in and out of his mouth as he crawled out of the cave.
Without warning, blue smoke came out of his mouth and when he looked up he was in a light pink room. He stood up and looked around, he saw Hope curled up on her bed hiding her face. He made a clicking sound to signal his presence and he stepped forward.
"Hope? What is the matter?"
He rested a paw on her shoulder and she looked up, a black and blue bruise on her right eye. The feathers on Pavo raised as she spoke in a quiet voice,
"Tim was drinking again.."
Pavo let out a low growl and turned away from her. He paced the room for a minute then stopped. He turned toward her, every feather on his body raised.
"Stay here. Don't be afraid Hope."
He smiled at her and his tail flicked. He walked over to the door and opened it. He walked carefully down the stairs and he heard the television set in the living room. He stepped onto the tile and his claws sounded like heels.
"I thought I told you to go to bed."
The mans speech was slurred but firm when he spoke. Pavo snarled at him and his horns turned black.
"What the-"
He stopped mid sentence when he turned around to face the demon. He hurled the bottle he was nursing at him, it landed a few feet in front of him.
"Oh god.. oh god help me.."
Pavo clicked his tounge and stood up as much he could in this house, he crossed his feathered arms.
"No use praying to someone who abandoned you."
Pavo smiled and stepped closer to him.
"Wha-"
Tim stepped back and bumped against the wall.
"It is funny when in a room with a demon and a man the little girl upstairs is more afraid of you than she is of me."
He placed a clawed paw on his shoulder and dug in.
"You are more of a monster than I am."
And with that the man burst into tears, Pavo hurled him against the wall. He heard cracks and knew he had completed his task. He looked at his body and stepped on his head, crushing it with ease. He wiped the blood on the carpet. He covered his body with the carpet and cleaned up the house.
"Hope"
He called to her,
"We are leaving now"
When she climbed down the stairs, Pavo offered her a paw.
"You don't have to be afraid any more."
