"Demons exist as malfunctions of natural order. I'd like to change that," the Goddess declared. Her voice was stern yet pliable; and her hands were placed on her hips, a glistening plait draped over her shoulder. While she was a being of ever-lasting exuberance from her sea-goddess appearance and whimsical personality, she also could mean business when she so pleased.

She continued, "I'd like you two to govern your kin in two adjacent towns so that you not only shall be forced to cooperate with each other, but with humans as well. Should any human be harmed, extreme punishment will be enforced."

The Harvest Goddess snapped her fingers to ensure the demons' attentions were being kept. Her voice turned low and harsh, "I don't enjoy having my people eaten by you monsters. Consider this your last chance at salvation, otherwise..." She ran a swift finger over her neck. "I'll end the existence of demons. Humans have enough predators to deal with."

"Milady, you can't possibly expect demons to be so obedient," Ina argued sternly, her eyes narrowing.

"Doesn't your creator deserve a little more respect, Ina? Perhaps I'll just chain you up until hunger drives you insane," she spat distastefully. "What about you, Rutger? I see you have an overwhelming advantage in this situation."

The elderly man smiled. An ecstatic tone ran like electricity through his voice.

"Of course!" he piped fearfully."Your wish for peace is mine. Rose will be satisfied with your request as well; it's exactly as we wanted ourselves!"

Ina scoffed. Rutger's fabrication of joy Ina found to be a bitter taste in her mouth; how could he not be afraid? If it became their jobs to monitor other demons, there was no chance of success. Demons were mad creatures.

Meanwhile, the Harvest Goddess smiled, brushing the hair off her shoulders.

"Yes. Rose. She was what actually brought me the idea," the goddess explained. "This proves it is possible for demons to live alongside humans, and that demons are capable of living exactly as they do. This also makes Rutger my personal favorite among demons."

Ina screwed up her nose. Rutger and his human wife were enigmas of nature. "I'll try your idea, Goddess. But I don't see how we'll tame that many demons. Rutger is but one."

"Oh, it shouldn't be difficult. You see, not all humans have been free of the demon world. For some their lives have been tossed into the chaos, and you know what has come out of it? A man by the name of Phillip Golding." She extended her arms to the two demons, projecting an image of a man with brown hair, running about clad in casual attire through city streets. To the eye he appeared to be a completely typical human being. "He's my official demon tamer."

"'Official'," Ina scowled.

"Don't doubt him simply because he's human," the Goddess mused. "Trust me, he'd be able to subdue even you, Ina."

Kana laid with his back pressed down and with his head hanging off the edge of the bed. The dogs sat all about on the floor, doing whatever various things dogs normally did – rolling, licking, biting things. Despite this frivolousness though, there was an ominous presence in the room. It was a sheet of paper from a calendar specifically.

Lillian also continued to prod at the back of his mind. If it wasn't for the look of her sparkling amethyst eyes, her smallness that simply begged for help, he almost felt like she wouldn't be such a burden on his mind.

No – she'd be a burden anytime, with any look, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint why. He felt like it was something so blatantly obvious he should be imprisoned for his lack of knowing what it was. Still, he couldn't figure it out.

For the past hours, Kana had been desperately searching for a way to keep his mind off of Lillian, and he found it on the calendar.

Fall had encroached upon the town quickly, and it left a burning reminder of what was to come. Kana obviously had spaced how much time had been going by recently, because only three weeks from now, the demon trainer would semi-arrive for his annual evaluation.

There wasn't much to think of beside Kana's absolute disdain for Phillip.

Goddess, if for just one year Kana didn't have to deal with Phillip, he would rejoice. He'd be the happiest demon Ina would ever see. But that would never happen to him. Only tamed demons were exempt from "testing". And Kana was the worst. The seasons always hit him hard, and now that he thought about it, he could feel the whimpering, stifling heat in his chest begging to be fed.

So many times had Kana wanted more than anything to just be human. He hated the hunger with a passion, but he couldn't fight it. He was a monster. He was a terrible thing that didn't deserve the smallest.

This was what he did to himself every fall. He would break himself down from the inside out in hope that one year, his guilt would overwhelm the hunger. But it never had, and it never would.

Outside the sun had risen, and the dawn light filtered into the town. It penetrated the curtains now, lighting up much of the room. This was Kana's usual time to get up, but he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep thinking between himself, Phillip, and Lillian.

Finally Kana stripped himself of the bed, got up, and threw himself into the shower. This was where he found himself even more immersed in thought, where he gave up his efforts, and where he decided Lillian was probably the best thing for his conscious. He hadn't eaten her; he hadn't even tried. She was too precious to be food, and now it was the time to figure out why. After throwing on clothes and raking his hands halfheartedly through his hair, he left.

Lillian. Just imagining her in his mind was enough to double his pace. In no time at all he was down the path to her farmhouse. Standing at the edge of her fields was a figure.

"Kana," he called out. The man was no man at all, standing at a mere five foot four. He was probably not much taller than Lillian.

"Hiro, what are you doing?"

"Well, apparently there was a human at the clinic! And I think I found it. I've just been waiting for it to come out."

"For how long?"

"Maybe half an hour."

Kana gave him a playful push back on the chest, "You're a creep, you know, Hiro?" and he continued up the way. Hiro followed closely behind, seeing Kana's haste as invitation.

"Do you know who it is?" Hiro wondered.

"Yeah. Her name's Lillian."

"How'd she get here? Why is she still her? And how hasn't she gotten eaten yet? I mean, especially with your temperament, I don't see a likely survival..."

Hiro's words were a pain in his chest, but the kid really didn't seem to know better. Honestly, Hiro was older than him, but he dealt with demons and humans alike no better than Rahi. Feelings sometimes seemed to be a foreign concept.

"Hiro, sometimes you need to shut up," Kana replied hopelessly, a little offended as they walked up the patio. "She might be a bit spooked by you."

Hiro took a few steps off the patio, and suddenly the door flung ajar, and Kana was sucked inside. The door slammed behind him.

Lillian's tiny hands were lightning fast on the locks.

"Thank the goddess," she breathed, scowling. "I don't know who that guy is but, he's the creepiest thing ever."

Lillian's hair was tied on the top of her head, and she obviously dug into the bathroom and located some makeup. Her eyes were done. Her skin was perfect porcelain. Her lips were a light, shimmering pink. The only wrong thing was her expression. Her brow was crinkled, her face distressed.

"He's been standing out there and freaking me out for the past hour. What does he think he's doing?"

"That's Hiro," Kana explained, lightly smacking himself on the cheek to knock his focus off her appearance. "Uh... He's a bit on the awkward side. But he's Ayame's apprentice."

"And Ayame's a human doctor?" she wondered as she passed a glance out the window.

He shrugged lamely. "Well, demons really don't need doctors."

She stuck her lip out. "You know what I meant."

"If you were asking if he's dangerous, the answer is I'm probably a million times more threatening than he is."

Lillian's gaze lowered. All night she had been muddling over what she should trust and what she shouldn't, and Kana made the first list for her, so why should she be afraid of anything he says is alright? What else did she have to hold onto?

Nothing. She had absolutely nothing, and she couldn't be like that forever.

"Should I let him in?"

"Whatever you want."

Slowly Lillian undid the locks and peeked through the door. Hiro looked boyish and peaceful, as peaceful as Kana claimed he was. This boy wore an unsure smile, as if he were afraid she would reject him again.

"Hi," the boy offered. "I'm Hiro."

"Lillian," she said small-ly.

"You're a friend of Kana's?" he wondered.

"Yeah" she whispered, "Are you a demon too?"

With unnecessary levity he nodded. "Certified wight."

"What?" she mouthed. Certified wight. She knew what neither of those words meant, and passed a look back at Kana. "What does that mean?"

"I can tell you," Hiro added quickly. He cleared his throat. "Kana's not a master of specifics, so I could inform you."

Lillian once again searched Kana for the okay.

He shrugged. "Do you want to know more about us?"

Lillian did. Leaving the door open seemed more dangerous than inviting Hiro in, and he grew on her quickly, not as quickly as Kana though, because even though she'd trusted him enough to let him in, she decided to remain fixed in a certain proximity around Kana.

"Okay, so Kana, what have you told her?" Hiro wondered, sliding into a chair at her dining table.

"Not much."

"'Kay, then I can go from the beginning, huh?"

"Yeah, basically."

Lillian passed skeptical glances between the two, but didn't question either. She really did want to know what demons were all about. Hiro spoke too fast as he began:

"Alright, you probably already know this, but demons aren't natural. We're humans with weird characteristics, sometimes supernatural-like powers and inhuman digestive systems. If these characteristics vary, demons are divided into classes. Wights are one of these, and they fall pretty low on the danger scale cause even if I wanted to attack someone, it would take days for it to even affect them. And I'd probably start looking like a zombie pretty soon too. So I don't attack classes include vampires, liches, and whatever else. Only the Harvest Goddess knows how many different types of demons there are out there."

Lillian swallowed. At least she could be comforted with the thought the some demons were mostly harmless. But then her eyes flickered across Kana and she felt the same dread wash over her as she had when she first learned about the demons.

"What are you?" she wondered dangerously.

Kana was frozen. He'd felt the question creeping up since the beginning of the conversation, and now he was tongue-tied.

What was he supposed to say?

"Kana?" Lillian assured, noticing the distress in his face. "It's alright, I was just curious. You don't have to tell me."

"I'll tell you later," he promised.

"Some demons do like to keep their identities hidden," Hiro added quickly. "Anyway, you can ask me questions from here."

"Okay..." She murmured sloftly, thinking. "Why are demons even here? In a town full."

"That's an arrangement with the Harvest Goddess. If we don't stay here and successfully complete a taming course, she threatens to kill us all."

Lillian blinked. "Taming?"

"It's the process of basically making us vegetarian demons. We're restricted to eating only human food. A demon tamer comes around twice a year and challenges us to be around blood without being controlled by it. Kana scored the worst out of anyone last time!"

Kana grumbled, trying to hint Hiro shouldn't be talking about that. But it had no effect on Lillian anyway.

"How do demons exist?" she continued.

"They were a blip in the system of natural order. I'm not exactly sure."

"Well... can humans become demons?"

"Yeah, but they're not as powerful as natural born demons. And not all demons can turn humans either. Me for example, I have no way to possibly change someone. It's usually a bite. I've heard of phantoms turning people too though."

"What are phantoms?"

"Another class of demon. I know Reina and Ina are phantoms. I believe that's what Laney is too."

"I thought Laney was a vampire," Kana mentioned briefly.

"Maybe. Pinpointing exactly the class of demon is difficult unless you're told, or you catch them feeding," Hiro explained. "The latter usually doesn't turn out well."

"So... as a wight, you can't actually attack people?"

"I can slowly drain their life energy. I've never seen a wight actually kill a human though."

"Do you know the classes of most people in town?" If there was any way she could protect herself, she wanted it.

"Uh, most I think I've got a good guess on most everybody... Want me to give you a list?"

She nodded a little too anxiously.

"Okay. Well, the wights I know are me, Howard, Yun and Ying. The tea house will be safe for you. Phantoms include Reina, Ina, and possibly Laney. Vampires include Cam, Georgia, Ash and Cheryl-"

Lillian fidgeted. "How dangerous are vampires? And can they turn humans?"

"That all depends on the vampire. Anyway... Liches are very rare and powerful. The only one I know is Ayame. Ghouls are strong, but they aren't the smartest. I know of Rahi and Gombe. Then we've got wraiths... the most harmlessly dangerous. Never invite them in no matter what you do. I know of Rutger, Mako and Mikhail. Everyone else I'm not sure."

Lillian tried to listen as Hiro spoke, but after he mentioned vampires, it became hard to focus. But she did pick up Kana wasn't included anywhere in that list, so she was fairly sure Hiro didn't actually know. That might've been why he wouldn't tell.

"I'm confused. Rahi and Ina are different," she wondered blankly.

"Classes can interbreed. Rahi's father was a ghoul."

"Oh," she said. Now she realized that was not the smartest question. "How many of those demons live in Bluebell?"

"A little less than half of them. You'll see before long."

Lillian's heart pulsed nervously. "Why?"

"Well, since we're not allowed to feed, Ina and Rutger have gotten pretty into cooking. They hold competitions at the mountaintop to see which town is best."

Lillian shifted in her seat. "Seriously? Cooking?"

"Well, your food is pretty bland, I must admit."

"Well then, I'll stay here, thanks."

Hiro winced. "Uh, I really doubt Ina would let you off the hook just because you're human. She's extremely haughty, and you know, she'll drag you up there if she has to."

Lillian formed a hopeless little "o" with her mouth and nodded. She wasn't going to question Ina's temper.

"I think the next one's in a couple of days, so you'd better suit up."

Her eyes drifted to the floor. Just the thought of having all those demons around her made her uneasy. How was she going to protect herself?

Hiro seemed to have gotten the hint and began speaking. "Just so you know, we'll be there too, and I'm fairly certain that Kana can ward off anyone who seems interested in you. Ayame will help too."

"Is there anything else? Like when you guys aren't around?"

"Well, there is the barrier... When a human occupies a residence for long enough, it creates a shield between natural and unnatural life. In other words, demons can't enter unless they are invited in."

"How long does it take to form?"

"Only a day or so. Next time you see us you'll probably have to invite us in."

She puffed a breath, sinking down in her chair. "So as long as I'm here, Cam won't be able to attack me again?"

Hiro nodded, inhaling. "I can see why he did. You're very fragrant."

Kana was upset. Her scent was hiding from him. He wanted it so she could have a reason to stay away from him. When it did hit him, it would probably hit him hard.

"Hey," Kana suggested, trying to get Hiro away from talking about those kinds of things. "Why don't we try going out. To test how you do? We'll be right by you."

Lillian felt a surge of compliance. It was very unnatural, and it didn't feel right, but her heart, the pitter-pattering stamp was fighting for it. Adrenaline. It coursed through her veins and ignited her nerves.

But, goddess, her mind was torn. She had to release herself from this house; it was doomed to become her personal block if she didn't try for liberation. These demons couldn't keep her trapped her forever. However, if she never tried, her chances were better.

Were they? As she recollected the previous night, it seemed the feeling of Cam's cold touch on her skin hadn't survived the night. She felt nothing but unrelenting numbness for the man, and she wasn't afraid.

"Okay," she replied.

Her answer was unsurprising. Her entire demeanor had been much healthier today. Kana grinned.

Hiro smiled too and he picked himself up. His feet raced before her, and he extended his hand out to her. SHe reluctantly took it, allowing him to pull her up to her feet. "I'd recommend the tea house this afternoon."

"Lead the way."

Hiro giddily did so. And Kana, very gingerly, came up behind her and prodded her as if he were saying, "I'm right behind you."

She breathed and stepped out into the breeze.

With every passing second Lillian felt an increasing temptation to grapple unto Kana's arm again. Somehow holding him captive made her feel a little more at ease.

"Hiro said you guys were unnatural life. Aren't you supposed to be, like, undead?" she wondered pointedly.

Kana scoffed. "Rude! Only zombies do that dead thing."

Her brow suddenly became furrowed. "Hiro never said anything about zombies."

"We don't have any here, that's why. They're nasty."

"Oh. Would it be insulting if I called you one?"

"Very."

"Then I'll store that away for later."

He gave a low, attractive chuckle that sent goosebumps racing across her skin. His voice was abnormally gruff, as if he were trying to stifle it. It was even more strange coming just over her shoulder.

She tried not be attracted to Kana, but she sort of felt it was natural; the damsel in distress was meant to fall for the hero, regardless of a mutual attraction. Plus, some of the things he did were genuinely attractive. For instance, he didn't want to eat her.

As they grew close to the tea house, Hiro slowed up to ensure they entered together.

You brought the dogs.

Lillian jumped. Kana had had his hand on her back and wondered in her ear, "What is it?"

Her eyes ventured away from him. "I just thought I heard something. It's fine."

The tea house was mostly silent. Nori was there, sitting alone in the back, and she eyed their entrance. She was particularly gazing at Lillian.

"I'm going to talk to Nori," Lillian said automatically.

"Oh," Kana returned. "Alright."

Her movement back through the restaurant was involuntary. Something was controlling her, and by the time she hit the table, she knew exactly what.

"You're very persistent. Very difficult to persuade," Nori explained. "Much more so than your dogs."

Nori was very faraway. She could possibly be amused and smile, but her thoughts lingered in the distance, an expanse away from the conversation.

"What?"

"Sit for awhile," she commanded, and Lillian obeyed.

"Now, my first order of business - don't be so reluctant to leave. Your home won't protect you from being compelled."

Lillian beamed, shrinking.

"Secondly, though you probably already understand this, trust no one. Your mind is too complex to read properly, and I do not know whom you trust."

"Why should I trust you?" Lillian hissed.

"There appears the 'Lillian intuition' again. You question too much and don't act enough."

Her eyes narrowed. "And what should I be doing?"

"Anything but what you're doing. Never get too attached to your dogs. Find real demons to protect you."

"You're talking about the cooking thing, aren't you?"

Nori nodded. Her words waited until Yun had come by and left tea and soup on the table for them.

"If a drop of your blood gets spilled around them, you're dead."

Lillian swallowed.

"Why must I even attend?"

"Ina's orders are orders from the goddess. And she demands we be in attendance to venerate the presence of a Gourmet," Nori sighed, placing for forefinger on her temple.

"Gourmet?"

"The Gourmets are a family of purebred ghouls. Ghouls naturally have an advanced sense of taste, but the Gourmets' tastes have been refined to new extent. They judge our cooking," she explain vastly, as if she was talking to nothing. "They used to be hunters of rare human delicacies such as nobles or pure bloodlines."

Lillian accepted this and decided to take a slow sip of her tea. It was strong, hot, and held a very fresh aroma. It wasn't overly sweet like she had expected. The soup too looked very pleasant.

"Yun must have good taste too," Lillian added.

"I don't believe so. That is why she changes her recipe every time she cooks. She's searching for the perfect blend of spice," Nori replied. She leaned over and began to stir her own tea. "That is also why she requires no payment. She can experiment new recipes without the ingredients going to waste. But you never know what exactly you are receiving from her."

Lillian nodded, took her spoon in hand and gingerly ladled out a small portion of the soup. Bits of leaf floated about in the warm, greenish liquid. She blew the steam away before sipping it.

"Mm," she squeaked, placing his fingers over her lips. It was still piping hot, but the flavor more than anything surprised her. It was bodied like a perfectly boiled egg drop dish, and yet the aromatic taste of tomato danced around her tongue. She could taste ginger and thyme.

She swallowed, pleased to do so, and retrieved another spoonful. This time, she blew on it a little longer than the previous.

"You like it?" Nori wondered, startled. For once she was in reality.

Lillian wiped her lips with a napkin. "Yes, I do. There are so many flavors I feel like I don't know what to do with myself."

Nori nodded. "Maybe it is humans who have the refined tastes."

"Maybe," Lillian repeated. "Does Rahi like the food here?"

"Yes, very much. I assume that's why he's already tamed at the age of seven."

Lillian wondered for a moment. Rahi looked a little older than that. "So do demons age like humans?"

"No. Demons live much, much longer. It takes a shorter time for us to mature as well. I'm just over fifty years myself."

Lillian gulped. Nori looked very young compared to the others.

"I don't even know how old I am," she admitted. "I might be over eighteen."

"Just over I believe is a good assumption. I've seen a lot of humans in my years."

"How old is Kana?" she asked innocently.

"He's one of the youngest beside Ying and Rahi. Twenty or so I believe, and he's been in taming for all of it."

Lillian screwed up her face. "What's the deal with Kana? He's harmless."

Nori's face darkened. "He is not." Her voice was acid. "He may be fooling you now, but he's one of the most wild demons I've ever seen. He'll rip through anything that gets between him and a meal. Why he let's himself be around you is beyond me."

Lillian felt uneasy, and set her spoon down on her napkin. She'd almost let herself forget she was dining with a demon. As she felt this uncanny feeling creep down her spine, she gave a sparing glance back on the restaurant.

Kana and Hiro were gone.

A/N: I would have had this up waaay sooner, but my internet died and I lost basically all my progress on this last time. I got angry, and here we have it, I don't even know how late. It's not edited and I'm lazy... Whoopsie?