"How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart."
~ William Butler Yeats
"There's no way I can remember all that." Jinx said bewildered.
"You won't have to remember it. It's like Kresk said; I know the way. We just need to listen for a door with a jahi face on it." Raven reassured her pet.
"Oh... What's a jahi? And how do you listen for it?"
Raven let out a breath that might almost have been a giggle. She had to admit; Jinx was adorable perplexed. The hex caster was dressed in the ensemble of a voodoo priest to the Baron Samedi; a swallow-tail coat over a button down shirt, leg-hugging tux pants, leather loafers, and a skull mask which the rapscallion had currently lifted on to her downy hair for the night, all toned to silken black with outlines of gold and inlays of scarlet.
Jinx's partner was a bit more regal; a black silk dress (with a petticoat over the torso), under-laid with a dark gray mesh, to match a bone adorned veil, two matching gloves and a large shawl completing the ensemble. Raven's motif for the night was spiders, because, as can only be stated so many times, there's only so much that fashion can do with carrion birds without looking pompous or vagabond.
Adjusting her shawl, Raven explained, "A jahi is a type of succubus, only not as powerful. And that's being generous. No wings, limited shape-changing, barely half of the magical talent; weaker in almost every possible way. Their only advantage is their stomachs; they can hold a swallowed soul for days."
Jinx still looked confused, mewling, "Oh… And that translates to door form how, exactly?" This time Raven really did let out a dry, but honest chuckle, slightly grinning as she wrapped her arms through Jinx's, "It will have two faces on it, I guess. I'm more worried about listening for it."
"Yeah, that was another thing… I didn't know that doors make sounds. Well, y'know, aside from *creeeak* and stuff like that."
"Apparently jahi doors do."
"Sooo, what do we do now? Just wander around until we hear a particular door?"
"I suppose. I hope this doesn't take long. The night only lasts so long…"
"Think of it as a romantic stroll, right through the creepy, hellish back-rooms of an alcoholic monster with destruction issues!" Jinx punctuated the statement by kissing Raven's head on the spot between the half-demon's mystical chakra and her hairline. Another soft crow escaped from the cambion. Raven murmured, "Alright, I'll give you that." The each other in their gazes for a moment too long, before Jinx looked ahead and asked plainly, "So, left or right?"
Raven almost hummed as she led Jinx, "To the right, ever to the right."
"A dead end, apparently a dead end." Jinx hastily quipped. Indeed, the hallway was a trap, stopping promptly into a wall that bore the portrait of a seven-head beast devouring angels. Now Jinx took the lead, wrapping her arm around Raven's waist and placing her hand on the sorceress's hip. Jinx continued, "Well, at least now we know that… the door was directly behind us all along. Huh."
Raven's slight grin melted with a tired, "Oh no. It wants us to play."
"Wha- What wants to play?"
"I can't really say. I knew something was watching us, I could even hear it moving around, but I thought it would let us pass. Evidently, it won't. Not without a game first."
"So what's the game?"
"From the looks of the markings on this door… The game is 'Go through the door or we're not getting out of here.'"
"Can't you walk through walls?"
"Can't you tear them down?"
Jinx flustered, "Good point…" Raven continued, "Even if we tried to go out another way, whatever it is that's following us will just change our direction again. One way or another, we're going through the room beyond this door."
"Do you think it'll be dangerous?" Raven let out an honest smile as she cupped Jinx's cheek and kissed the tip of her nose, promising, "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'll keep you safe. If it so much as lays a claw on you, I'll rip it in half."
"Hey! You'll protect me? I'm the one wearing the pants tonight, in case you haven't noticed. Anything moves, and I'll blow it to smithereens."
"I know. That's why you're going first." Raven said with a wicked smirk. Jinx glared at her date for setting up a trap like that so quickly. Still, credit where it was due, it was a very clever trap. Jinx reached for the door, placing her hand on the door knob. She couldn't help but notice that Raven was grasping her free hand rather tightly, something both worrying and massively comforting.
The opening blue door seemed to drag air behind it, or perhaps it was the room taking a much-needed breath. The room was long, with a concrete floor and cinder-block walls. Shelves lined the walls and ran down the middle of the corridor-like chamber, their contents unknown. The sides of the ceiling dangled a sparse amount of fluorescent lights. A pungent, dusty smell danced on the dry air.
Jinx felt her legs want to move back. Nothing good was in here, at least not anything that would prolong her life. But before she could so much as shove a toe away from the door, the meta-human was aware of Raven scooting past her shoulder, through the door, and dragging Jinx by the hand.
The door slammed shut. For a brief moment, all the lights went out. They were back on in an instant. At the other end of the room was a new door, identical to its predecessor. Raven was aware of her lover's grasping hand extending to an intertwined arm, like the branches of two trees interconnecting with each other. The couple began to walk forward.
The two were instantly aware of the rattling. Up above, something on the ceiling was following them, clattering and clicking, the crack of dozens of joints moving along in a dancing unison. When they stopped, it stopped; when they moved faster, so did the presence. Jinx tried to distract herself by looking at the shelves around her.
The room's macabre details utterly failed as a refuge for the nerves. Some of the jars held shelves filled with a multicolored liquids, cradles for lumps of flesh, grotesque worms, and even what looked like the fetus of something not entirely humanoid or demon. A hook occasionally hung from the ceiling, attached to an iron chain. Metal seemed to form an important part of the grim tapestry; boxes of saws, pliers, knives, screws, and needles all rested against oddly out of place books with vexing titles like "Crossbreeding and You!", "Eugenics; the Slow and Easy", and "Parasite Grafting for Profit and Pleasure".
And ever still was that clacking sound. It seemed to make the journey longer, the room a canyon that stretched miles. And who knows? Maybe the presence did; it was certainly able to move the door around with ease.
The door was just ahead. A normal person, an average human being, would have been relieved. But a meta-human and a half-demon knew better. Their set their ears to the air, and their eyes to the shadows. The lights flickered off again, darkness engulfing the pair. Not even Raven's piercing gaze or Jinx's feline stare could see so much as their hands in front of them. And then the lights came back.
The two let out a startled yelp. Standing next to the door was what could only be described as a shrine. A waste barrel supported was ringed by chains on top of it. Underneath the barrel, piles of books, jars, and old boxes served as supports. Crowning the barrel was a montage of jars; eyes, ears, tongues, lips, a preserved pair of shark's teeth, and even an undersized brain, all illuminated by a lamp taken from the walls and put behind the jars, casting a sickly light through the organs and their preserving liquid. Written in black ink across the barrel was the word "Korper".
"Okay, Rae… I'm freaked out now. Can we please get out of here and let –it- win?" Jinx mewled as she inched towards the door.
"Yes. I do believe we can. Just don't move too fast; it might chase us." Was the half-demon's reply. The two started inching towards the door, not even sure if it was unlocked or not. And that was when something yanked on their hair.
Unnoticed by the couple, the clacking sound had moved behind them and placed itself directly above them. The two felts hands fumble on their heads and grab their apparel; Raven's veil and Jinx's mask were both pulled off. The meta-human and the cambion weren't even thinking at this point; they were just screaming while Raven tossed open the door and threw herself and Jinx out. The two panted for a moment before the clacking reached a crescendo. A laughing, musical hiss came from the room, tittering, "Sometimes we become more than succubi, little half-breed."
Far too many skeletal arms reached out of the shadows and wrapped around the door, drawing back into the darkness and closing the portal. The new door was a curving figure eight, with holes into the dark behind it. A dry whistle flowed through the punctures, and the door seemed to be emblazed with the caricature of a woman with a second face for a stomach.
Raven and Jinx took a moment to catch their breaths. Jinx let out a groan as she realized, "Oh no… We have to back through that coming home, don't we?"
"I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it. Thanks." Raven retorted, leaning against a wall. Jinx leaned next to her, letting out a wry, "You're welcome. Y'know, most girls wouldn't go to this much trouble just for a date with you." Raven smiled as she leaned over Jinx, pinning an arm over the hex-caster's shoulder, and breathing out, "You're not just any girl, sweetheart. You're mine." Practically drowning in her cotton-candy scent and inviting eyes. Raven leaned in and took Jinx's sweet lips for herself.
Guess who won the poll? Well, I managed to get a story out before the Summer ended. (HA! Take that likelihood!) Needless to say, I can't even write a pairing story normally. No~ooo, it has to be some overblown, longwinded planar romp. Now sit back and enjoy the comedy stylings of me attempting to write romance. And between two girls no less; yeesh, I'm out of my element.
'Cause that's how I roll, Children of the Night. PEACE OUT! Gorgo, Mormo, and the Thousand Faced Moon be with you.