The fox from hell: the tail of the once great demonhunter

Roxanne leant up from the couch, bracing herself on one of her arms as she groaned, massaging her head a little. She looked to the drink, slowly sitting up so she could take it, glancing inside of the cup at the tea. She stared for a moment before she took a small sip, sighing at the relief.

Then her eyes wandered over to the mask, already feeling a little uneasy as she stared at it, like it was giving a vibe. She was sure there was a story behind it as she had to force herself to look away before taking another sip.

Azrael suddenly spoke. "The mask was used in my torture designed to render me powerless whenever I press it to my skin. It's actually come in handy as a thing to keep me sane" he said not turning from his work

She said nothing, merely staring at the mask as he spoke. She shuddered when she felt the vibes again, just the sight of it felt like it was draining the life out of her. With a sigh, she took another sip of her hot drink, the warmth relaxing her pores as she sunk further into her seat.

Though it wasn't long before her eyes wandered to him as he worked in the kitchen.

Azrael sighed as he set out a plate of colorful pastries. Then went back to work on something else he was cooking. "Why don't you come away from the mask... It really brings spirits down"

Roxanne did without thinking, getting up and moving away from the couch, to instead walk to the window. She stared outside, not really focusing on anything in particular, until she noticed it was suddenly raining; hard, to the point that it almost looked like a sheet of water.

She frowned a little at the sight as she took another sip.

Azrael looked to her. "If your tired there's a guest room upstairs..." He said going back to his cooking he wasn't sure what to say or do

Roxanne sighed, still looking out of the window. "No, I'm not tired..." she said, taking another sip. She huffed, mentally scolding herself. If this was how it was going to be for a long time, then she had to make the effort too. Despite everything, Azrael was trying...

She forced herself to walk over to him, peeking over his shoulder, though she never got a sight of what he was cooking.

"Do you cook often?" she asked, rolling her eyes at the question. It sounded lame.

"Best cook in kitnsui village." He said with a grin. "I was always the cook of the family... My wife used to burn everything she touched when she cooked" he said chuckling at the memory. "She's burned through more pans and pots than I can remember" he was actually smiling

Roxanne looked to him, making note of his smile, possibly the first time she'd seen him smile ever. Normally it was either a pout or scowl in her direction, so it was a unusual turn.

She sighed. "I can only cook a few things, I was hoping my mother would teach me when I was in my late teens, but that more or less went out the window." she said, taking another sip. "I mainly do desserts."

"If you like  desserts you should try my rainbow cakes on the plate there"  he said. "Each one has a different fruit or sweet inside. And be careful of the green ones. They usually have sour flavors"

Roxanne snorted. "Rainbow cakes..." she mused, walking over and looking at each of them closely. She hummed as she thought of which one to have. Roxy glanced over her shoulder at him before she wiped a blue one, since it was her favourite colour.

She took a bite out of it, chewing the contents before she moaned quietly. It was much better than she thought it would be.

"My mother's secret recipe." He said smilig. "Each one has a new surprise and flavor " he said taking one and poping it into his mouth he them picked up two plates of salmon green beans and rice and set it down. "Dinner is served"

Roxanne instantly noticed his smile again, suddenly so contrasting to the guy who was growling and snarling at her hours before back at Maxus' village. She didn't really know how to feel about that, then again, he could one of those deceiving smiles.

She shook her head from the thought and slowly walked over to her plate of food, sitting down in the chair as she looked at it. In the mood she was in, she doubted she would eat much at all, but Az seemed to put a bit of effort into it, so...she'd try at least.

"I hope it tastes as good as it smells..." she breathed, trying to tease slightly.

"Try for yourself" he said as he sat down. He dug in first smiling at his culinary creation. He loved the flavor of his own cooking. It just proved that he wasn't the demon people think he is

Roxanne perked an eyebrow, before she took a forkful and started chewing. She chewed slowly as she wanted to taste the full flavour of the salmon. Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise as she instantly took another forkful. "Wow, that's...actually really good." she said, before looking to him as she gulped. "Though your mood swings are kind of giving me whiplash."

Roxy bit the inside of her cheek. "'Cause this - " she gestured to him with her fork. " - wasn't the person I encountered at the bar a few hours ago..."

Az sighed. "The man you met in the bar was being harassed by other demon hunters and goaded by drunk deadbeats. Just before you came I had thrown three drunks into the walls" he looked to her. "I wanted nothin mor than to die... But i guess it helped having you to talk to"

Roxanne knew what that felt like, she wanted to herself after she heard about Max....a small part of her still does, but then again...

She looked down at her food before she poked at it with her fork. "I see...though...talking is not one of my strong points..." she frowned, staring at her plate before taking another bite. "You might need someone else for that bit."

"Well until then you and I are stuck with eachother" he said as he finished his food and went to wash his plate. "Your a good listener though" he looked to her. "If you need anything my room if the room at the end of the hall upstairs" he then walked upstairs after saying that

Roxy watched him leave, sighing heavily as she tried to eat as much of his meal he made for them before her stomach, or rather her mind started to disagree with her. She threw the last scrapings away in the bin before she washed up her own plate. Though, as she looked around quickly, she swiped another one of his rainbow cakes, a red one this time as she went upstairs too to her room.

Roxy sat on the bed, nibbling on the cake as she stared out of the window, staring at the moon. Then the force of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks again; scoffing down the cake as she started sobbing quietly.

Azrael sighed as he hung up his jacket and threw his shirt to the floor. He sat down on the bed looking at the scars on his body. Each one a reminder of the torture he endured in hell. How he escaped was still a mystery but he didn't dwell on it. He lay back in bed and stared at the ceiling

A few hours later, she was curled up under the covers, trying to go to sleep. However, Roxy couldn't seem to fall asleep as she was crying continuously, hugging her pillow close to her. Snot was coming down her nose like streams as she whimpered and wailed.

She missed him! God, she missed him! And she needed him right now, but she knew that he wasn't coming back.

Roxy threw her pillow onto the floor in frustration before she got out of bed and looked out the window. Even though she couldn't stop crying...she didn't want to be alone tonight.

Azrael started to do push-up and sit ups in his room. Since he couldn't sleep he would have to find something else to occupy his time. He winced as his ribs still hurt a little from the wack he got from that light demon.

Roxanne found herself outside Azrael's door, just staring, hesitating to knock, just a tap on his door and surely she would get the company she needed for tonight, even if it was forced company, she just...needed someone to be there, to listen. Well, if she felt like talking that is.

Though after a while, she didn't have the courage to do it as she leaned her back against his door, sliding to the ground as she continued crying, hiding her head in her knees as she did.

The door opened. Before she fell backward she would feel someone's hands pressed against her back. Azrael stood above her. All he seemed to was pick her up and carried her inside.

Roxanne looked up at him with wide, red eyes from her tears. She didn't dare move as he carried her in.

"Azrael...could I...stay here tonight?" she sniffled, looking up at him with the tiniest bit of hope in her eyes. Az has never seen her this vulnerable before as she cried and cried, subconsciously clinging to him any way she could.