//The Sleepover (3)//

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Crawled my way out of hell to write this for you <33

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I stared up at the ceiling, head resting on my pillow. Everyone had finally settled down, after hours of gossip (Most of which revolved around my apparent love-life, thanks to X) accompanied with nail-painting. X had flaunted around the cutesy flower designs Aurelia had painted for hours. 

We lay huddled in sleeping bags in the middle of the unused empty ballroom, the lanterns long doused, the air filled with the quiet breaths of sleeping demons. I waited another while before quietly crawling out of my sleeping bag and stepping out of the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

I wandered throughout the empty halls of the castle, nodding at a few passing demon sentries as I glided past them. I soon made my way out to the training field, stepping through the grass until I arrived in a place in the clearing out of earshot from any sentries that may pass. I looked up to the sky and sighed before speaking to the stars. "So? How was your sleepover. Was it everything you wanted?"

X appeared beside me with a giggle. "It was wonderful. It makes me wonder what life would be like as a normal person." The demon god looked wistfully to the stars. 

My upper lip curled in dissatisfaction. "You're making it difficult to loathe you."

"That's the goal, of course."

I raised my eyebrows. "Sooo... you gonna let me cross over then?"

"HAHAHA no."

I puffed out my cheeks. "It was worth a try. Wait, I know. How about we arm wrestle and if-"

"Oop, gotta run!"

I blinked as X interrupted me before faded out of existence. I  paused for a moment, considering. Maybe they had some sort of a visitor. I turned my attention back to the stars. "A visitor, for that lonely demon? No way. More likely, a new toy."

"Talking to the moon?" I looked over my shoulder to spot Cozbi, gliding through the grass towards me like a ghost.

"Trying to get to youu~~ in hopes you're in the other side~~ talking to me too~~" I sang cheesily, mostly to myself.

"What?" 

I cleared my throat. "...Nothing."

We stood in an awkward silence, until Cozbi's voice broke it.

"Beautiful." I turned to her in question. "The stars." She elaborated. "It's a clear sky, as far as the eye can see. Walk with me?"

"Yeah." I smiled softly, following behind Cozbi a step or two. I couldn't help but wonder how the sky looked over there right now. I hoped the weather was nice, at least.

"You're kind of weird."

"Gee, thanks."

"It's almost like you're here, but not really. Do you have something big on your mind?"

I shifted my weight between my feet. "More like a few people I miss." I answered simply.

Cozbi nodded her understanding. "Yeah. I have some of those too." Although she wore her usual smile, there was a certain edge to her voice, accompanied with a gentle breeze, that made me pause.

"What kind of people?" I asked curiously. "...Cozbi?"

"What about you?" The demon girl asked back. "What kind of people are you missing?"

I raised my eyebrow. "I asked first."

Cozbi huffed. "Family, or something like that. And you? Family too?"

I hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think 'family' is the best way to put it. 'Idiots' works too, of course." I snickered.

Cozbi nodded thoughtfully. "You say that, but it seems you care a lot."

This time I answered with a grin. "We've been through hell and back, me and them. On several different levels, too." The two of us turned back towards the stars. They were a sight rarely seen in the human world. There was so little light pollution here, that the twinkling lights looked so close I could reach my hand out and pluck one out of the sky.

"I wonder if they see the same sky." Cozbi spoke quietly. I turned to her curiously, unable to quite catch what she said. But she simply shrugged. "Will you see them again? Your family."

I grinned nervously. "I'd like to know the same thing. In the beginning, I was just going to try to do my best. But then I saw how hard it would be, and chickened out a little. I began to believe that this place would be- er, that I wouldn't see them again. But recently," I turned towards Cozbi cheerfully. "I've decided to make it happen. I won't idly wait for another chance to surpass me. Even if it results in me wrangling the scrawny little neck of an all-powerful deity or two." 

Cozbi met eyes with me. "I suppose I should try that too." Perhaps it was on instinct that the hair on the back of my neck prickled, or perhaps I had simply already been on edge. For whatever reason, my hand fell towards the knife belt concealed under my cloak. "Y/N, I need you to come with me." This time the tone change in Cozbi's voice was apparent, and equally unnerving. It was then that I noticed how far away I had come from the castle entrance, and was now bordering the gate entrance. I inwardly scolded myself for letting my guard down, while my mind worked to figure out what exactly was going on.

"What are you talking about?" I asked normally, my fingertips brushing against my knife hilt. I heard the near-quiet swishing of grass around me, instinctually believing that there was now at least another two beings present behind me- whether friend or foe, I wasn't sure.

"I know you're not an idiot." Cozbi took a step forward and my back leg slid back into action, my fingers flicking up one of the knives concealed in my belt into my hand.

"Not another step closer." I spoke coldly, training my eyes on the demon girl in front of me. My mind was screaming to look behind me to see who was approaching, but I feared taking my eyes off of Cozbi for even a moment would be a fatal mistake.

"Y/N, calm down- I'm not trying to hurt you."

"She says, after leading me away from where any of the sentries can hear me scream, all while her friends approach me stealthily from behind." I spoke theatrically, left hand flicking a second knife out of my belt. "Not only that, but also holding a sword under her cloak." I gasped in mock surprise, catching a glimpse of the dull blade in the moonlight. 

"You- ...okay, you make a good point. You two can stay where you are." Cozbi called out, and I heard the swishing of grass pause in response. "Let me rephrase that. I need you to come with me. While I don't intend to hurt you, I am also willing to resort to force if necessary."

My mind was racing a thousand thoughts at a time. I'd sparred with Cozbi earlier, and I was well-aware of how trained she was with that blade of hers. In addition, for demons, "hurt" can mean tearing off a limb. After all, most demons would have enough regenerating cells left to survive that no problem. But me? Unfortunately not a demon. If I lose an arm, I might survive, but fighting against Leuvis after that? No way. 

I swallowed drily, my eyes meeting Cozbi's steadily. 

"I'll hear you out."

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Seggsy?

I also can't believe how many of you religiously await every new update y'all are the reason I find the motivation to finish these <33

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